35 


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'1  o 


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LIBRARY 


4896 


THE 


American   Fur  Trade 


OF   THE 


Far  West 


A    History    of   the   Pioneer  Trading    Posts  and    Early 

Fur   Companies  of  the  Missouri  Valley  and 

the     Rocky    Mountains    and     of 

the   Overland  Commerce 

with    Santa   Fe. 


MAP  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS 


BY 

HIRAM    MARTIN   CHITTENDEN 

Captain  Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  A.,  Author  of 
"The  Yellowstone." 


THREE   VOLUMES 

A'OLUMS    i.. 


NEW    YORK 

FRANCIS   P.  HARPER 

1902 


J  0  Jl  4/   i 


Copyright,    1901, 

BY 

FRANCIS  P.    HARPKR 


All  rights  reserved 


\ 


V 


IN  HONOR  OF 

THE 

jforaotten  Iberoes 

OF 

lEarlp  3fur  TCrabe  Daps 

WHO 

FIRST    EXPLORED    THE    UNKNOWN    REGIONS 

BEYOND   THE   MISSISSIPPI 

BEARING  THE   STANDARD  OF   PEACEFUL   COMMERCE 

TO    THE 

REMOTEST   VALLEYS   OF   THE   ROCKY    MOUNTAINS 

AND    THE 

FAR-OFF   COASTS   OF  THE   PACIFIC   OCEAN 


PREFACE. 


;^"  A  late  historical  writer  has  said  that  there  are  few  more 

"i^  impressive  incidents  in  the  history  of  the  West  than  the 

meeting  by  Lewis  and  Clark,  when  nearly  home  from  their 

o\'^       journey  across  the  continent,  of  numerous  parties  of  traders 

wending  their  way  to  the  heart  of  the  wilderness  which 

these  explorers  had  just  left.     There  could  be  no  doubt  in 

this  manifestation  of  a  common  purpose  which  way  the 

r.^  course  of  empire  was  tending.     Scarcely  had  the  United 

States  come  into  possession  of  Louisiana,  and  before  she  had 

^,  fairly  taken  stock  of  her  new  acquisition,  her  citizens  had 

^'  begun  to  penetrate  its  remote  interior,  impatient  to  learn 

f^  what  it  had  in  store  for  them. 

Thirty-seven  years  passed  away  and  this  movement  pre- 
sented another  phase  of  even  deeper  significance.  A  little 
incident  serves  to  determine  its  date.  In  the  year  1843 
James  Bridger,  whose  name  will  always  be  prominent  in 
annals  of  Western  adventure,  built  a  post  on  a  tributary  of 
Green  river,  a  water  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  for  the  conven- 
ience of  emigrants.  It  was  the  first  trading  post  beyond 
the  Mississippi  ever  built  for  this  purpose,  and  its  establish- 
ment marks  the  beginning  of  the  era  of  emigration  into  the 
Far  West. 

These  two  landmarks  —  the  return  of  Lewis  and  Clark 
and  the  founding  of  Fort  Bridger  —  determine  the  limits  of 
a  distinct  period  in  Western  history.  It  is  a  period  of  which 
comparatively  little  is  known  because  it  has  been  obscured 
by  the  more  brilliant  events  of  that  immediately  following. 
The  Mormon  emigration,  the  War  with  Mexico,  the  dis- 


Nv 

] 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

covery  of  gold  in  California,  and  the  controversy  over  the 
Oregon  Question,  absorbed  public  attention  in  their  time,  so 
far  as  the  West  was  concerned,  and  in  a  large  measure  have 
done  so  since. 

For  forty  years  after  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  the  people 
of  the  United  States  v^ere  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  do  with 
their  new  possession.  It  was  not  yet  needed  for  settlement, 
for  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Mississippi  was  still  an  unsub- 
dued wilderness  in  which  the  stream  of  emigration  might 
lose  itself  for  many  years  to  come.  No  one  seems  to  have 
suspected  that  its  distant  mountains  abounded  in  the  pre- 
cious metals.  The  single  attraction  that  it  offered  in  a 
commercial  way  was  its  wealth  of  furs,  the  gathering  of 
which  became,  and  for  a  long  time  remained,  the  only  busi- 
ness of  importance  in  this  entire  region. 

The  nature  of  this  business  determined  the  character  of 
the  early  white  population.  It  was  the  roving  trader  and 
the  solitary  trapper  who  first  sought  out  these  inhospitable 
wilds,  traced  the  streams  to  their  sources,  scaled  the  moun- 
tain passes,  and  explored  a  boundless  expanse  of  territory 
where  the  foot  of  the  white  man  had  never  trodden  before. 
The  Far  West  became  a  field  of  romantic  adventure,  and 
developed  a  class  of  men  who  loved  the  wandering  career  of 
the  native  inhabitant  rather  than  the  toilsome  lot  of  the 
industrious  colonist.  The  type  of  life  thus  developed, 
though  essentially  evanescent,  and  not  representing  any 
profound  national  movement,  was  a  distinct  and  necessary 
phase  in  the  growth  of  this  new  country.  Abounding  in 
incidents  picturesque  and  heroic,  its  annals  inspire  an  inter- 
est akin  to  that  which  belongs  to  the  age  of  knight-errantry. 
For  the  free  hunter  of  the  Far  West  was,  in  his  rough 
way,  a  good  deal  of  a  knight-errant.  Caparisoned  in  the 
wild  attire  of  the  Indian,  and  armed  cap-a-pie  for  instant 
combat,  he  roamed  far  and  wide  over  deserts  and  moun- 
tains, gathering  the  scattered  wealth  of  those  regions,  slay- 
ing ferocious  beasts  and  savage  men,  and  leading  a  life  in 
which  every  footstep  was  beset  with  enemies  and  every 


PREFACE.  IX 

moment  pregnant  of  peril.  The  great  proportion  of  these 
intrepid  spirits  who  laid  down  their  Hves  in  that  far  country 
is  impressive  proof  of  the  jeopardy  of  their  existence.  All 
in  all,  the  period  of  this  adventurous  business  may  justly 
be  considered  the  romantic  era  of  the  history  of  the  West. 

But  if  the  fur  trade  was  lacking  in  events  of  deep  nation- 
al significance  —  the  Astorian  enterprise  always  excepted  — 
it  was  not  without  its  influence  upon  the  course  of  empire 
in  the  West.  It  was  the  trader  and  trapper  who  first  ex- 
plored and  established  the  routes  of  travel  which  are  now, 
and  always  will  be,  the  avenues  of  commerce  in  that  region. 
They  were  the  "pathfinders"  of  the  West,  and  not  those 
later  official  explorers  whom  posterity  so  recognizes.  No 
feature  of  western  geography  was  ever  discovered  by  gov- 
ernment explorers  after  1840.  Everything  was  already 
known,  and  had  been  for  fully  a  decade.  It  is  true  that 
many  features,  like  the  Yellowstone  wonderland,  with  which 
these  restless  rovers  were  familiar,  were  afterward  forgot- 
ten and  were  re-discovered  in  later  years;  but  there  has 
never  been  a  time  until  very  recently  when  the  geography  of 
the  West  was  so  thoroughly  understood  as  it  was  by  the 
trader  and  trapper  from  1830  to  1840. 

This  minute  knowledge  was  of  practical  use  in  many 
ways.  When  Brigham  Young  selected  the  valley  of  Great 
Salt  Lake  as  the  future  home  of  his  people,  he  did  so  largely 
upon  information  derived  from  the  traders.  When  the 
War  with  Mexico  came,  the  military  forces  of  the  United 
States  invaded  New  Mexico  under  the  guidance  of  men 
who  knew  every  trail  and  mountain  pass  better  than  the 
most  thorough  reconnaissance  could  have  taught  them. 
When  the  national  troops  appeared  before  the  gates  of  Santa 
Fe  they  were  met  by  a  people  who  had  already  been  virtually 
won  to  the  American  cause  through  long  intercourse  with 
the  traders.  When  the  rush  of  emigration  to  California 
and  Oregon  followed,  the  emigrants  found  a  highway  across 
the  continent  already  established.  When  the  government 
entered  in  earnest  upon  the  work  of  exploration,  it  was  the 


X  PREFACE. 

veteran  mountaineer  who  was  always  sought  to  do  service 
as  guide. 

Profound  and  far-reaching  was  the  influence  of  the  fur 
trade  upon  the  destiny  of  the  Indian.  If  the  traders 
brought  with  them  corrupting  vices  and  desolating  disease, 
they  also  brought  to  the  Indian  his  first  lessons  in  the  life 
that  he  was  yet  to  lead.  They  mingled  with  his  people, 
learned  his  language  and  customs,  understood  his  character, 
and,  when  not  impelled  by  business  rivalry,  treated  him  as 
a  man  and  as  a  brother.  The  extensive  intermarriage  of 
the  two  races  during  a  period  of  more  than  a  century  under 
the  fur  trade  regime  has  probably  done  more  than  any  other 
one  thing  toward  the  ultimate  civilization  of  an  almost  un- 
tamable race.  It  was  only  in  these  early  years  that  the 
white  man  and  the  Indian  truly  understood  each  other. 
Very  rarely  has  any  Indian  agent  or  army  officer,  however 
wide  their  experience,  displayed  that  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  tribes  and  knowledge  of  the  native  character,  that 
was  possessed  by  the  trader  and  trapper.  Fortunate  would 
it  have  been  if  this  practical  experience  had  been  turned 
to  proper  account  and  if  these  trained  men  had  oftener  been 
employed  by  the  government  in  transacting  its  business  with 
the  Indians. 

The  cause  of  science  has  repeatedly  acknowledged  its  in- 
debtedness to  the  fur  trade.  Maximilian,  Nuttall,  Audu- 
bon, Nicollet,  Catlin,  and  many  others  enjoyed  facilities  for 
work  in  that  wild  country  which  would  have  been  impos- 
sible without  the  assistance  of  the  trader.  This  was  par- 
ticularly true  of  those  researches  which  related  to  the  early 
life,  customs,  and  tribal  history  of  the  Indians ;  to  the  fauna 
and  flora  of  the  country;  and  to  the  geography  of  a  region 
which  was  terra  incognita  when  the  trader  entered  it. 

Finally  the  nation  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  those  reso- 
lute pioneers,  who,  single-handed  and  alone,  stood  their 
ground  against  their  British  rivals  between  the  Great  Lakes 
and  the  Rocky  mountains.  Their  valiant  bearing  prevent- 
ed in  a  large  degree  those  international  complications  which 


PREFACE.  Xi 

SO  often  threatened  the  peace  of  the  two  countries  along 
other  portions  of  the  frontier. 

The  fur  trade,  therefore,  had  a  real  and  potent  influence 
upon  the  history  of  the  West  —  an  influence  imperfectly 
understood  as  yet,  but  which  will  be  more  fully  recognized 
as  time  goes  on.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  promote 
an  appreciation  of  its  importance  by  presenting  a  history  of 
The  American  Fur  Trade  of  the  Far  West  during  the 
period  of  its  principal  operations  in  that  extensive  region. 
The  subject  has  never  yet  been  dealt  with  in  a  comprehen- 
sive way,  and  many  of  its  important  transactions  are  as  lit- 
tle known  as  if  they  had  not  taken  place.  Writers  of  West- 
ern history  have,  to  a  great  extent,  neglected  these  earlier 
events,  giving  their  attention  first  to  that  which  occurred 
last,  and  have  thus  left  a  goodly  portion  of  the  field  worked 
over  scarcely  at  all.  Excepting  a  few  important  works  deal- 
ing with  special  features,  the  history  of  the  American  fur 
trade  has  never  heretofore  received  any  particular  attention. 

In  fixing  upon  a  logical  order  of  presenting  the  subject 
much  embarrassment  has  been  experienced  on  account  of  the 
heterogeneous  character  of  the  material  to  be  dealt  with. 
The  events  have  been  so  diverse,  and  have  borne  so  little  re- 
lation to  each  other,  that  the  task  of  making  a  connected 
narrative  has  been  well-nigh  impossible.  Irving,  in  his 
masterly  treatment  of  certain  enterprises  of  the  American 
fur  trade,  has  handled  this  difficulty  in  a  way  that  leaves 
little  to  be  desired.  Along  with  the  run  of  his  story  he  con- 
stantly introduces,  without  violence  or  apparent  effort,  de- 
scriptions of  scenery,  fauna  and  flora,  men  and  manners, 
anecdotes  of  personal  adventure,  sketches  of  prominent 
characters,  comments  and  criticisms  —  and  all  in  such  har- 
monious fashion  that  the  lack  of  connection  between  the  va- 
rious parts  would  scarcely  be  noticed  by  the  general  reader. 
But  in  a  work  which  attempts  to  give  a  comprehensive  view 
of  the  entire  field,  this  method  did  not  seem  admissible.  It 
was  considered  essential  to  segregate  cognate  subjects  as 
far  as  possible  under  separate  heads  so  as  to  present  at  a 


xn  PREFACE. 

single  view  each  phase  of  the  general  theme.]  The  result 
has  been  a  five-fold  division  of  the  work  with  smaller  class- 
ifications under  each. 

Part  I.  treats  of  the  business  of  the  fur  trade  in  its  sev- 
eral bearings  and  describes  its  characteristic  features.  The 
business  was  a  peculiar  one  in  many  respects,  and  an  under- 
standing of  its  peculiarities  is  essential  to  an  understanding 
of  its  history. 

Part  II.  is  the  narrative  proper  of  the  events  of  the  fur 
trade  and  follows  their  order  chronologically  as  far  as  is 
possible  and  preserve  the  continuity  of  distinct  subjects.  It 
comprises  the  bulk  of  the  work  and  the  principal  results  of 
its  researches. 

Part  III.  is  an  account  of  those  events  which  did  not  per- 
tain directly  to  the  fur  trade,  but  which  transpired  in  the 
country  and  at  the  time  in  which  the  fur  trade  was  being 
carried  on.  Indirectly  they  were  all  connected  with  that 
business. 

Part  IV.  contains  descriptions  of  a  few  of  the  more  note- 
worthy events  and  characters  of  the  fur  trade  which  stand 
out  by  themselves  as  interesting  incidents  apart  from  their 
particular  bearing  upon  the  course  of  the  narrative. 

Part  V.  undertakes  to  give  a  general  view  of  the  country 
in  which  the  trans-Mississippi  fur  trade  flourished,  together 
with  some  notice  of  its  fauna  and  flora  and  of  its  native 
inhabitants.  Its  purpose  is  solely  to  present  a  picture  of 
the  country  as  it  appeared  to  the  practical  eye  of  the  trader, 
and  not  at  all  to  discuss  it  in  exhaustive  detail  or  from  a 
technical  standpoint.  In  strictly  logical  order  this  portion 
of  the  subject  was  entitled  to  precedence  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  parts,  but  as  it  was  in  reality  of  secondary  impor- 
tance to  the  main  purpose,  it  was  placed  last.  It  is  hoped 
that  this  subordination  of  position  may  not  divert  from  it 
the  attention  it  deserves  as  an  explanatory  adjunct  to  the 
entire  work.  Particularly  in  the  matter  of  geographical 
nomenclature  and  discovery  it  contains  the  results  of  much 
historical  research. 


PREFACE.  Xlll 

Some  of  the  rarer  and  more  important  original  docu- 
ments which  have  been  used  in  preparing  this  work  are 
presented  in  the  Appendix.  To  the  critical  student,  and 
even  to  the  general  reader,  there  will  be  much  of  genuine 
interest  in  these  living  pictures  of  a  forgotten  past. 

For  the  more  complete  elucidation  of  the  subject  a  map 
of  the  trans-Mississippi  country  has  been  prepared  showing 
it  as  it  was  in  1843.  The  preparation  of  this  map  has  been 
a  greater  labor  than  its  lines  and  letters,  skilfully  as  these 
are  made,  might  lead  one  to  suppose,  and  upon  many  points 
it  will  give  a  better  idea  than  can  be  had  from  unaided 
written  description.  The  drawing  was  executed  by  Mr. 
Paul  Burgoldt  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  one  of  the  ablest  artists 
in  this  kind  of  work  that  the  country  affords. 

In  assembling  the  data  for  this  work  more  than  ordinary 
difficulties  have  been  encountered.  No  general  authorities 
were  available.  Except  in  two  instances  the  transactions 
of  the  Western  fur  trade  did  not  fall  within  the  purview  of 
the  public  press,  and  the  scattering  references  in  eastern  peri- 
odicals are  seldom  of  much  value.  The  era  of  government 
exploration  not  having  yet  set  in  there  are  very  few  official 
reports  that  deal  directly  with  the  subject.  A  large  amount 
of  information  is  scattered  through  the  many  narratives  of 
adventure  which  appeared  at  this  time,  but  these  works,  un- 
fortunately for  the  present  purpose,  were  mostly  written 
to  make  good  stories,  and  abound  in  exaggerations  at  the 
expense  of  accurate  data.  They  are  a  perilous  resource  to 
the  historian.  Finally  what  may  be  called  original  data, 
consisting  of  unpublished  documents  of  every  description 
and  oral  testimony  by  those  who  have  some  personal  knowl- 
edge of  these  early  events,  are  scattered  as  widely  as  are 
the  posterity  of  those  who  helped  make  the  history  of  the 
fur  trade. 

The  use  of  the  data  brought  together  from  these  scat- 
tered and  dissimilar  sources  has  been  scarcely  less  embar- 
rassing than  the  process  of  their  collection.  It  has  been 
necessary  to  cull  from  a  multitude  of  authorities  —  here  a 


XIV  PREFACE. 

little  and  there  a  little  —  checking  one  against  another  until 
a  correct  result  could  be  arrived  at.  Despite  the  great  pains 
taken  in  this  sifting  process,  no  one  is  more  conscious 
than  the  author  that  only  a  moderate  degree  of  success 
has  been  attained.  The  wholly  unexpected  places  in  which 
material  of  the  highest  value  has  been  found,  forcibly  sug- 
gest that  a  great  deal  more  may  have  been  overlooked. 
In  truth,  there  is  scattered  throughout  the  country,  in  every 
variety  of  hiding-place,  documents  of  true  historic  value 
which  might  become  public  knowledge  did  their  owners 
but  realize  their  worth.  Evidence  has  constantly  presented 
itself  of  the  existence  of  valuable  journals  kept  by  those  who 
were  once  prominent  in  the  far-west  country,  but  where 
they  are  now  it  is  impossible  to  say.  Every  little  while  an 
interesting  letter  or  other  document  falls  under  the  eye 
of  some  one  who  understands  its  worth  and  is  brought  to 
public  knowledge.  This  process  will  doubtless  continue  for 
many  years  to  come.  But  if  it  must  be  admitted  that  much 
has  escaped  discovery  in  these  researches,  it  is  believed  that 
the  essential  facts  relating  to  all  the  events  herein  described 
have  been  determined. 

Of  the  many  published  works  consulted,  those  of  Wash- 
ington Irving  and  Josiah  Gregg  are  the  most  important, 
for  they  handle  in  a  thoroughly  comprehensive  and  accurate 
way  the  special  subjects  of  which  they  treat.  Astoria,  Cap- 
tain Bonneville,  and  the  Commerce  of  the  Prairies  will  never 
be  surpassed  in  their  particular  fields. 

Maximilian  Prince  of  Wied  is  the  most  reliable  published 
authority  upon  the  early  history  of  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany on  the  upper  Missouri.  The  extensive  library  of 
Americana  belonging  to  the  Hon.  Peter  Koch  of  Bozeman, 
Montana,  himself  a  discriminating  student  of  early  Western 
history,  possesses  the  very  unusual  treasure  of  a  copy  of 
Maximilian's  book.  The  loan  of  this  work  during  several 
months  made  it  possible  to  draw  from  the  distinguished  au- 
thor much  information,  which,  in  an  ordinary  perusal, 
would  have  been  overlooked. 


PREFACE.  XV 

Captains  Lewis  and  Clark,  the  first  official  explorers  of 
the  Missouri  and  Columbia  valleys;  Lieutenant  Pike,  the 
pioneer  explorer  of  the  southwest;  David  Thompson  and 
Alexander  Henry  the  younger,  who  crossed  the  continent  in 
1813  in  the  service  of  the  Northwest  Fur  Company;  Charles 
Larpenteur,  "Forty  years  a  Fur  Trader  on  the  upper  Mis- 
souri," and  Francisco  Garces,  a  Spanish  pioneer  of  the  Col- 
orado valley,  left  journals  which  have  recently  had  the 
good  fortune  to  be  published,  either  in  original  or  new  edi- 
tions, under  the  editorship  of  the  late  Dr.  Elliott  Coues, 
who  gave  to  this  work  the  ten  years  of  his  life  immediately 
preceding  his  untimely  death.  The  intrinsic  value  of  these 
journals  in  themselves  is  scarcely  greater  than  that  of  the 
copious  editorial  commentary  which,  accompanies  them. 
Both  have  been  freely  used  in  this  work,  while  equally  im- 
portant has  been  the  direct  assistance  received  from  Dr. 
Coues  in  the  course  of  a  lon^  and  interesting  correspond- 
ence. 

Mrs.  Frances  Fuller  Victor,  the  historian  of  Oregon 
and  Washington,  has  woven  around  the  biography  of  the 
trapper  Joseph  Meek  a  very  complete  account  of  the  desul- 
tory operations  of  the  mountain  traders  between  1830  and 
1840.  Her  contributions  to  Bancroft's  history  of  the  West- 
ern states  likewise  contain  a  great  deal  relating  to  the  fur 
trade.  The  extensive  fund  of  information  collected  through 
a  lifetime  devoted  to  these  studies  has  been  freely  tendered 
through  the  medium  of  correspondence  for  use  in  the  pres- 
ent work. 

Father  "P.  J.  De  Smet,  the  distinguished  Jesuit  missionary, 
holds  an  eminent  place  as  an  authority  upon  the  pioneer  his- 
tory of  the  Rocky  mountain  region.  The  correspondence 
relating  to  his  travels  was  extensive  and  most  of  it  has 
been  published.  It  is  a  rich  treasure  house  of  facts  relat- 
ing to  those  early  times. 

The  writings  of  travelers  who  visited  these  remote  re- 
gions and  published  narratives  of  their  experiences,  or  left 
journals  which  have  since  been  edited  by  other  hands,  are 


XVI  PREFACE. 

the  next  most  important  reliance.  Bradbury  and  Bracken- 
ridge  are  the  standard  authorities  upon  the  first  part  of 
the  overland  Astorian  expedition  and  upon  contemporary 
events  along  the  Missouri  river.  Franchere,  Cox,  Ross, 
and  Henry  all  wrote  of  the  transactions  of  the  Pacific  Fur 
Company  during  its  short  career  upon  the  Columbia.  Ze- 
nas  Leonard,  W.  A.  Ferris,  Thomas  Nuttall,  J.  K.  Town- 
send,  Thomas  J.  Farnham,  F.  A.  Wislizenus,  Audubon  the 
naturalist,  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  John  B.  Wyeth,  Jacob 
Fowler,  and  the  Reverend  Samuel  Parker  are  among  those 
writers  who  have  done  most  to  preserve  the  history  of  this 
early  period. 

There  are  other  publications  which  deal  with  the  same 
subjects  but  in  a  less  careful  way,  being  narratives  of  per- 
sonal adventure  in  which  a  thrilling  recital  was  the  principal 
object  in  view.  Among  the  better  works  of  this  class  may 
be  mentioned  Scenes  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  by  Rufus 
Sage,  and  Scenes  mid  Adventures  in  the  United  States 
Army  by  P.  St.  G.  Cooke.  The  romance  by  Frederick  Rux- 
ton,  Life  in  the  Far  West,  is  a  useful  work,  as  is  also  the 
extravagant  autobiography  of  James  P.  Beckwourth.  Coy- 
ner's  Lost  Trappers  is  an  example  of  a  vicious  method  of 
writing  occasionally  indulged  in  by  these  early  authors  who 
manufactured  their  narratives  out  of  whole  cloth  and  adver- 
tised them  to  the  public  as  truthful  history. 

There  is  much  relating  to  the  fur  trade  scattered  through 
government  publications,  though  not  as  a  general  thing  eas- 
ily accessible.  A  few  official  reports  have  fortunately  been 
rescued  from  "  public  document "  oblivion  through  the  la- 
bors of  private  editors.  Lewis  and  Clark,  Pike  and  Long 
can  now  be  found  in  any  good  library,  but  it  is  only  in  the 
more  elaborate  collections  that  the  reports  of  Nicollet  and 
others  of  equal  value  may  be  seen.  The  earlier  government 
publications,  such  as  the  American  State  Papers,  are  to  be 
found  in  only  the  very  best  libraries.  They  are  rich  in 
material  pertaining  to  early  military  and  Indian  problems ; 
but  like  the  hidden  ore  of  the  mountains  it  is  to  be  had  only 


PREFACE.  XVU 

by  patient  and  laborious  mining.  Seldom  indeed  has  the 
government  scattered  its  wealth  of  information  in  surface 
deposits  where  it  can  be  had  by  mere  superficial  digging. 

The  historical  societies  of  Wisconsin,  Missouri,  Kansas, 
Nebraska,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  and  Montana  have  pub- 
lished much  relating  to  the  history  of  the  fur  trade;  and 
have  collected  many  documents  bearing  upon  its  various 
features.  In  most  instances  this  material  has  been  gratu- 
itously tendered  for  use  in  connection  with  these  researches. 

Such  are  the  principal  sources  of  information  herein  rehed 
upon  which  can  be  found  in  the  more  complete  libraries. 
Convenient  access  to  most  of  them  has  been  afforded  by  the 
Mercantile  Library  of  St.  Louis,  through  the  courtesy  of 
its  librarian,  Mr.  Horace  Kephart.  The  admirable  collec- 
tion of  works  pertaining  to  trans-Mississippi  history  which 
this  library  contains  has  been  constantly  at  the  author's  serv- 
ice throughout  these  studies.  But  for  the  facilities  thus 
afforded  he  would  have  found  his  task  well-nigh  impossible. 

Important  as  have  been  the  data  derived  from  the  fore- 
going sources,  the  main  dependence  has  been  upon  original 
documents  many  of  which  are  here  brought  to  public  at- 
tention for  the  first  time.  Among  these  may  be  included 
the  early  Missouri  newspapers  of  St.  Louis  and  Franklin. 
Although,  strictly  speaking,  these  papers  should  be  classed 
as  published  authorities,  they  are  not  so  in  the  sense  of 
those  just  enumerated.  They  are  practically  inaccessible 
to  the  general  public,  for  only  a  single  complete  file  of  each  is 
still  in  existence. 

The  Missouri  Gazette  was  the  first  newspaper  published 
west  of  the  Mississippi  river.  It  began  its  career  May  12, 
1808.  The  title  was  changed  to  Louisiana  Gazette  Decem- 
ber 7,  1809,  and  back  to  Missouri  Gazette  July  18,  181 2. 
On  March  20,  1822,  the  name  was  changed  to  Missouri 
Republican.  This  paper  was  the  progenitor  of  the  modern 
5*^  Louis  Republic,  and  a  nearly  complete  file  is  still  pre- 
served in  the  vaults  of  the  Republic  office.  Through  the 
indulgence^-of  the  proprietors  of  this  journal  the  entire  file 


XVlll  PREFACE. 

down  to  1850  has  been  examined  in  connection  with  this 
work.  It  abounds  in  valuable  data  and  is  the  sole  existing 
authority  upon  many  obscure  points.  There  were  other 
St.  Louis  newspapers  during  much  of  the  fur  trade  era, 
but  they  have  not  been  so  carefully  preserved  and  are  of 
less  value  than  the  old  Gaactte. 

The  Missouri  Intelligencer  and  Boone's  Lick  Advertiser 
began  its  career  in  the  little  town  of  Franklin  which  stood 
(until  the  Missouri  claimed  it)  on  the  opposite  bank  from 
the  modern  city  of  Boonville,  Missouri,  two  hundred  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  river.  It  was  for  years  the  western- 
most newspaper  in  the  United  States,  and  being  directly  on 
the  route  of  travel  to  the  West,  it  contained  many  valuable 
references  to  the  early  expeditions.  These  references  are 
particularly  important  in  the  case  of  the  Santa  Fe  trade 
which  had  its  origin  in  Franklin.  The  files  of  this  paper 
have  been  examined  through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Irvin 
Switzler  of  Columbia,  Missouri,  their  present  custodian,  and 
by  the  assistance  of  Professor  Garland  C.  Broadhead,  late 
State  Geologist  of  Missouri. 

Nilcs  Register,  which  is  so  valuable  a  mine  of  historic 
data,  borrows  most  of  its  items  pertaining  to  the  trans- 
Mississippi  territory  during  this  period  from  the  St.  Louis 
and  Franklin  papers. 

By  far  the  most  important  collection  of  original  data  that 
has  been  consulted  is  the  mass  of  documents  relating  to 
the  Missouri  and  American  Fur  Companies,  now  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  Pierre  Chouteau  of  St.  Louis,  grandson 
of  the  distinguished  fur  merchant,  the  late  Pierre  Chouteau. 
These  documents  comprise  correspondence,  journals,  rec- 
ords of  business  accounts  and  other  papers,  some  of  them 
dating  back  into  the  eighteenth  century.  Many  of  them  are  in 
the  French  language  and  a  few  in  the  Spanish.  Those  per- 
taining to  the  later  years  of  the  trade  are  nearly  all  in  Eng- 
lish. There  are  occasionally  gaps  and  omissions  and  many 
documents  have  evidently  been  lost,  or  their  present  where- 
abouts are  unknown;  but  enough  are  still  in  existence  to 


PREFACE.  XIX 

settle  most  of  the  doubtful  points  upon  the  operations  of 
the  St.  Louis  traders.  Mr,  Pierre  Chouteau  has  afforded 
every  facility  for  examining  these  papers,  and  the  enormous 
labor  of  going  through  them,  musty  and  dusty  with  fifty  to 
a  hundred  years  of  St.  Louis  atmosphere,  has  been  patiently 
performed.  To  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Chouteau  and  of  his 
father,  the  late  C.  P.  Chouteau,  whatever  merit  there  may 
be  in  result  of  these  researches  is  largely  due. 

Mr.  M.  L.  Gray  of  St.  Louis,  administrator  of  the  Sub- 
lette estate,  has  come  into  possession  of  much  of  the  Ash- 
ley-Sublette-Campbell-Smith correspondence.  Though  lim- 
ited in  scope,  these  papers  are  the  sole  existing  authority 
upon  many  points  connected  with  the  history  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Fur  Company.  Mr.  Gray  has  generously  author- 
ized such  use  of  them  as  was  desired. 

Mrs.  William  Mulkey  of  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  daugh- 
ter of  the  fur  trader  Andrew  Drips,  possesses  much  of  the 
early  correspondence  of  her  distinguished  father.  That  por- 
tion which  relates  to  the  special  work  of  Major  Drips  as  In- 
dian agent  for  the  tribes  of  the  upper  Missouri  from  1842 
to  1846  contains  exhaustive  data  upon  the  history  of  that 
period. 

Under  the  painstaking  direction  of  Mr.  William  Seever, 
late  secretary  of  the  Missouri  Historical  Society  of  St.  Louis, 
many  original  documents  have  been  collected,  and  these 
likewise  have  been  carefully  examined.  The  more  impor- 
tant are  the  journal  of  the  Atkinson-O' Fallon  expedition  of 
1825,  and  several  unpublished  essays  upon  early  frontier 
history  by  William  Waldo  and  others. 

The  late  Captain  Joseph  La  Barge,  the  most  noted  pilot  of 
the  Missouri  river,  whose  experience  upon  that  stream  dated 
from  1832  and  extended  to  the  collapse  of  the  steamboat 
business,  and  whose  memory  retained  its  power  to  a  remark- 
able degree  even  in  old  age,  was  an  eye  witness  of  some  of 
the  events  herein  related  and  was  personally  acquainted  with 
most  of  the  actors.  His  oral  testimony  has  been  freely 
used  throughout  this  work.     There  is  in  the  possession  of 


XX  PREFACE. 

the  La  Barge  family  in  St.  Louis  an  old  log  book  of  the 
American  Fur  Company  containing  the  record  of  the  annual 
steamboat  voyages  up  the  Missouri  for  most  of  the  decade 
from  1840  to  1850.  This  venerable  record  has  been  very 
useful  in  checking  dates,  events,  and  places. 

The  old  legal  papers  in  the  Recorder's  office  in  St.  Louis 
contain  much  information  bearing  upon  the  transactions  of 
the  traders. 

Through  the  accidents  of  fortune  to  which  carelessness,  if 
nothing  worse,  has  more  than  once  subjected  the  most 
valuable  documents,  the  old  records  of  the  United  States 
Indian  Superintendency  of  St.  Louis,  for  the  tribes  residing 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  were  thrown  away  and  would  have 
been  lost  but  for  the  diligence  of  a  second-hand  book  dealer 
who  thought  them  worth  preserving.  Some  of  these  rec- 
ords were  purchased  by  the  Kansas  Historical  Society  and 
are  now  preserved  in  the  State  Capitol  at  Topeka,  where 
an  opportunity  was  had  of  examining  them.  They  are  full 
of  interesting  data  concerning  the  fur  trade  era  down  to 
1830. 

The  American  Fur  Company  letter  books,  open  for  in- 
spection to  visitors  at  the  John  Jacob  Astor  Hotel  on  Mack- 
inaw Island,  Michigan,  contain  practically  the  only  reliable 
data  upon  the  earlier  operations  of  the  company. 

Captain  Edwin  L.  Berthoud  of  Golden,  Colorado,  a  care- 
ful student  of  the  pioneer  history  of  the  West,  improved 
the  exceptional  opportunities  afforded  him  as  engineer  on 
the  early  Union  Pacific  surveys  to  collect  much  valuable  in- 
formation relating  to  events  and  characters  of  the  fur  trade. 
This  information  has  been  freely  drawn  upon  throughout 
the  present  investigation. 

Of  the  many  other  sources  of  information  whose  im- 
portance is  only  less  than  that  of  those  already  enumerated 
it  would  be  impossible  to  make  individual  mention  within 
the  compass  of  these  pages,  but  the  author's  debt  to  them 
is  none  the  less  gratefully  acknowledged. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  1. 

PAGB 

Preface  by  the  Author vii-xx 

PART  I. 

THE  FUR  TRADE. 

CHAPTER  I. 
Character  of  the  Business     .......  1-8 

CHAPTER  H. 
Relations   With   the  Indians 9-16 

CHAPTER  HI. 
Evil    Effects    of    Competition        ......      17-21 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Liquor  Traffic 22-31 

CHAPTER  V. 
Characteristic  Features  of  the  Fur  Trade        .  .        32-43,^ 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Trading  Posts 44-50 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The   Trapping   Fraternity 51-64 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Life   in    the    Wilderness        . 65-70 


XXll  CONTENTS. 

PART  II. 

HISTORICAL. 
CHAPTER  I. 

PAQB 

Louisiana 71-82 

CHAPTER  n. 

>J^^<^TSE    OF     THE     AMERICAN     FuR     TrADE  .....  83-96 

CHAPTER  HI. 
St      Louis        ..........     97-112 

CHAPTER   IV. 
Expeditions    of    1807         ........    113-124 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Missouri  Fur  Company. — Manuel  Lisa,  its  Founder     .   125-136 

CHAPTER   VL 
The  Missouri  Fur  Company. — Sketch  of  its  Varied  Career  137-158 

CHAPTER  Vn. 
Crooks      and      McLellan 159-162 

j^  CHAPTER  VHL 

^  Astoria. — Origin   and  Scope  of  the  Project  .         .         .   163-170 

CHAPTER   IX. 
\    AstoRiA. — The   Expedition   by   Sea  .....    171-181 

CHAPTER   X. 
.  Astoria. — The    Overland    Expedition  —  West        .         .         .   182-199 

CHAPTER   XI. 

Astoria. — Beginnings  on  the  Columbia  and  the  Overland 

Expedition — East        ........  200-214 


CONTENTS.  XXlll 

CHAPTER  XII. 

PAGE 

"nAstoria. — The  Course  of  Events  on  the  Columbia        .         .  215-226 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
s  Astoria. — Review  of  the  Enterprise         .....  227-238 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Astoria. — Its    Author    and    the    "  Sources    of    His    Inspira- 
tion "  .........  239-246 

CHAPTER   XV. 
The  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company. —  Ashley  and  His  Men  247-261 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Rocky  Mountain    Fur  Company. —  Under  William   H. 

Ashley       ..........  262-281 


\, 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

he  Rocky  Mountain  Fi-r  Company. —  Adventures  Cf  Jede- 

diah     S.     Smith  .  .  .  282-287 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
The  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company. —  Its  Later  History     .  288-308 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

The    American     Fur     Comp.\ny. —  Establishment    of    the 

Western    Department        .......  309-320 

CHAPTER   XX. 
The  American  Fur  Company. —  The  Upper  Missouri  Outfit   321-343 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
The  American  Fur  Company. —  Stress  of  Competition         .  344-362 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
The  American  Fur  Company. — 1834-1843         ....  363-374 


XXIV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

PAoa 

The  American  Fur  Company. —  Methods  and  Men        .         .  375-395 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Captain    Bonneville         ........  396-433 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth 434-456 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
o  The  Oregon   Trail 457-482 


^^' 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


VOL.  I. 

Fort  Union  in   1833       .......       Frontispiece 

Ground   Plan  of  a  Trading   Post         .         .         .         Facing  page  45 

Signatures  to  Contract  for  Return  of  Mandan  Chief      "         "     139 

Facsimile  of  Smith,  Jackson  and  Sublette's  Articles 
of    Agreement    ........""    280 

The  Astor  Medal  .......""    343 

Independence    Rock      .......,""    471 


THE  AMERICAN  FUR  TRADE 

OF 

THE  FAR  WEST. 


PART  L     THE  FUR  TRADE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CHARACTER    OF    THE    BUSINESS. 

Importance  of  the  fur  trade  —  Era  of  the  fur  trade  —  St.  Louis  — 
Communication  with  New  York  —  Furs  and  peltries  —  Methods  of  se- 
curing furs  —  Fur  trade  merchandise — Profits  of  the  trade  —  Magni- 
tude of  the  business  —  Number  of  persons  employed  —  Losses  of  life 
and  property. 

♦fTT  is  not  an  easy  thing,  at  this  period  in  American  history, 
■■  to  appreciate  how  great  a  place  in  the  affairs  of  former 
times  the  fur  trade  occupied.  The  trade  has  not  by  any 
means  become  extinct,  nor,  perhaps,  greatly  diminished  in 
volume,  if  at  all,  as  one  may  readily  see  by  examining  the 
statistics  of  sales  in  the  leading  markets  of  the  world  today. 
It  is  only  in  a  relative  sense  that  it  has  become  less  important. 
While  it  has  remained  stationary,  other  lines  of  trade  have 
expanded  many  fold,  until  now  it  is  almost  lost  sight  of  in 
the  vast  current  of  the  world's  affairs.  Yet  it  is  not  long 
since  it  was  a  leading  branch  of  commerce  in  the  western 
world,  nor  more  than  sixty  years  since  it  was  almost  the 
only  business  transacted  in  the  immense  territory  west  of  the 
Mississippi. 


X 


2  •    SAINT    LOUIS. 

The  fur  trade  of  the  Missouri  valley  began  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  but  it  did  not  assume  large  proportions 
until  after  the  cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States  and 
the  exploring  expeditions  of  Lewis  and  Clark  and  Pike. 
Its  career  thereafter  continued  practically  unchecked  until 
the  tide  of  Western  emigration  set  in,  about  1843.  The 
true  period  of  the  trans-Mississippi  fur  trade  therefore 
embraces  the  thirty-seven  years  from  1807  to  1843. 

In  this  trade  the  city  of  St.  Louis  was  the  principal,  if  not 
the  only,  emporium.  It  is  true  that  the  headquarters  of  the 
American  Fur  Company  and  of  some  other  fur-trading 
concerns  v^ere  in  New  York,  but  even  in  these  cases  the 
actual  base  from  which  all  operations  in  the  Western  country 
were  carried  on  was  the  city  at  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri. 
All  parties  were  organized  and  all  outfits  were  made  up 
there.  The  returns  of  the  trade  en  route  to  market  all 
passed  that  way.  Most  of  the  traders  resided  there,  and  all 
non-resident  firms  maintained  houses  there.  Great  estab- 
lishments arose  for  the  convenience  of  the  trade,  while  the 
port  of  St.  Louis  became  a  center  of  commerce  almost  as 
widespread  as  that  of  New  York  itself. 

In  the  earlier  years  communication  with  New  York  and 
other  seaboard  towns  took  place  principally  by  way  of  the 
Ohio  river  or  the  Great  Lakes.  In  the  latter  case  the  route 
was  sometimes  by  way  of  the  Illinois  river  to  Lake  Michi- 
gan, thence  either  by  water  or  across  the  country  to  Detroit, 
thence  to  Black  Rock  near  Buffalo,  and  thence  overland  to 
New  York ;  at  other  times  it  was  by  way  of  the  Mississippi, 
the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers  to  Lake  Michigan,  and  the 
rest  of  the  way  by  the  route  just  described.  In  later  years, 
after  the  use  of  steamboats  became  general,  commerce 
usually  passed  by  way  of  New  Orleans. 

The  business  of  the  fur  trade,  as  the  name  implies,  was 
mainly  a  trafiic  in  furs  and  peltries.  There  were  the  fine 
furs  obtained  from  the  beaver,  otter,  mink,  fox,  and  other 
animals,  and  the  coarser  products  such  as  buffalo  robes,  bear 
and  deer  skins,  which  were  not  used  as  furs  so  much  as  for 


METHODS    OF    PROCURING    FURS.  3 

lap  robes,  heavy  coats,  and  the  like.  Besides  the  furs  and 
peltries  there  were  regularly  brought  to  St.  Louis  cargoes 
of  buffalo  tongues,  buffalo  and  bear's  tallow,  and  limited 
quantities  of  other  products.  The  trade  from  the  south-  - 
west,  particularly  from  Santa  Fe,  dealt  more  largely  in 
horses,  mules,  and  specie. 

There  were  several  methods  of  procuring  furs.  The  one  ^ 
most  generally  resorted  to,  and  which  on  the  whole  yielded  \  / 
the  largest  results,  was  by  traffic  with  the  Indians.  The 
first  thought  of  the  trader  on  going  to  a  tribe  of  Indians 
was  to  supply  himself  with  those  articles  which  he  knew 
had  an  attraction  for  the  native  fancy,  to  a  large  extent 
things  of  trifling  value,  but  of  showy  appearance.  The 
white  man  valued  the  native  furs  altogether  beyond  wha* 
the  Indian  was  able  to  comprehend,  and  the  latter  was  only 
too  happy  to  find  that  he  could  trade  them  for  that  gaudy 
and  glittering  wealth  which  had  been  brought  from  a  great 
distance  to  his  country.  Thus,  in  the  early  intercourse  of 
the  white  man  with  the  Indian,  each  gave  to  the  other  some- 
thing that  he  valued  lightly,  and  received  in  return  some- 
thing that  he  valued  highly,  and  each  felt  a  keen  contempt 
for  the  stupid  taste  of  the  other.  The  trade,  thus  begun  by 
imposition  on  the  one  side  and  ignorance  on  the  other,  devel- 
oped, upon  more  thorough  acquaintance,  into  a  regular 
system. 

All  the  fur  companies  regularly  employed  hunters  and 
trappers  who  killed  buffalo  and  caught  beaver  and  gathered  h^ 
such  other  furs  as  came  in  their  way.  These  men  worked  at 
fixed  wages,  and  the  product  of  their  labor  belonged  to  the 
company.  No  goods  were  brought  into  the  country  for 
furs  taken  in  this  way,  except  in  payment  of  the  men's 
wages,  which  were  generally  absorbed  as  fast  as  earned  in 
new  outfits  and  in  liquor  or  feasting. 

A  third  source  from  which  the  products  of  the  country      ,rK 
were  obtained  was  the  free  hunter  and  trapper.     These  men 
worked  on  their  own  account,  being  bound  to  no  company, 
and  generally  sold  the  product  of  their  labor  at  some  regu- 


4  FUR    TRADE    MERCHANDISE. 

lar  trading  post  or  rendezvous,  although  they  occasionally 
went  to  St.  Louis  with  it  themselves,  A  large  portion  of 
the  payment  for  their  furs,  if  sold  in  the  interior,  was  in  the 
form  of  articles  required  for  new  outfits,  and  for  tobacco 
and  liquor.  The  free  trappers  worked  only  in  the  finer 
kinds  of  fur. 

It  thus  appears  that,  from  whatever  source  the  trader  ob- 
tained his  furs,  he  generally  paid  for  them  in  merchandise 
carried  into  the  country.  This  merchandise  comprised  such 
articles  as  were  used  in  traffic  with  the  Indians  and  for  the 
equipments  of  trappers  and  hunters,  the  more  necessary 
articles  of  food  which  could  not  be  obtained  from  the 
country,  and  finally  plenty  of  liquor  and  tobacco.  To  con- 
vey a  clear  idea  of  the  variety  of  articles  in  a  trading  equip- 
ment, as  well  as  the  prices  at  which  they  were  rated  in  the 
mountains,  an  extract  is  given  in  the  accompanying  footnote 
from  the  bill  of  sale  by  which  General  William  H,  Ashley 
transferred  his  outfit  to  the  firm  of  Smith,  Jackson  and  Sub- 
lette, near  Great  Salt  Lake,  July  i8,  1826,^ 

^  The  invoice  included  "gunpowder  of  the  first  and  second  quality  at 
one  dollar  fifty  per  pound,  lead  one  dollar  per  pound,  shot  one  dollar 
twenty-five  cents  per  pound,  three  point  blankets  at  nine  dollars  each, 
green  ditto  at  eleven  dollars  each,  scarlet  cloth  at  six  dollars  per  yard, 
blue  ditto  common  quality  from  four  to  five  dollars  per  yard,  butcher 
knives  at  seventy-five  cents  each,  two  and  a  half  point  blankets  at 
seven  dollars  each.  North  West  fuzils  at  twenty-four  dollars  each,  tin 
kettles  different  sizes  at  two  dollars  per  pound,  sheet  iron  kettles  at  two 
dollars  twenty-five  cents  per  pound,  square  axes  at  two  dollars  fifty 
cents  each,  beaver  traps  at  nine  dollars  each,  sugar  at  one  dollar  per 
pound,  coffee  at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  a  pound,  raisins  at 
one  dollar  fifty  cents  per  pound,  grey  cloth  of  common  quality  at  five 
dollars  per  yard,  flannel  common  quality  at  one  dollar  fifty  cents  per 
yard,  calicoes  assorted  at  one  dollar  per  yard,  domestic  cotton  at  one 
dollar  twenty-five  cents  per  yard,  thread  assorted  at  three  dollars  per 
pound,  worsted  binding  at  fifteen  dollars  per  gross,  finger  rings  at  five 
dollars  per  gross,  beads  assorted  at  two  dollars  fifty  cents  per  pound, 
vermilion  at  three  dollars  per  pound,  files  assorted  at  two  dollars  fifty 
cents  per  pound,  fourth  proof  rum  reduced  at  thirteen  dollars  fifty 
cents  per  gallon,  bridles  assorted  at  seven  dollars  each,  spurs  at  two 
dollars  per  pair,  horse  shoes  and  nails  at  two  dollars  per  pound,  tin  pans 


PRICES    IN    THE    MOUNTAINS.  5 

A  large  proportion  of  the  merchandise  of  certain  classes 
was  imported  from  Europe,  for  at  this  early  day  American 
manufactures,  in  blankets  and  cloths  particularly,  were  so 
inferior  that  the  Indians  did  not  want  them,  having  learned 
through  the  British  traders  what  a  really  good  article  was. 
It  thus  happened  that  while  the  furs  found  their  principal 
market  in  Europe,  the  merchandise  for  which  they  were 
traded  was  mostly  manufactured  there.  It  would  be  inter- 
esting: to  trace  an  invoice  of  fur-trade  merchandise  from  the 
manufactories  of  Europe  in  those  early  days  to  New  York, 
New  Orleans,  St.  Louis,  and  thence  to  the  remote  and  ob- 
scure trading  posts  in  the  heart  of  the  wilderness ;  and  there, 
where  the  innocent  beaver  falls  a  victim  to  the  wily  trapper, 
to  witness  the  exchange  of  these  goods  for  his  rich  coat  of 
fur,  and  to  follow  the  latter  back  through  St.  Louis,  New 
York,  and  London,  to  its  final  destination  in  the  comfort- 
able garments  of  the  aristocracy  of  Europe.  The  complete  ^y"' 
round  occupied  fully  four  years.  Could  we  know  the  price 
of  the  merchandise  as  it  left  the  factory  and  its  equivalent 
in  fur  as  sold  in  the  completed  garm.ent,  the  increase  would 
be  found  to  be  several  hundred  per  cent.  This  did  not,  of 
course,  all  represent  profit.  The  insurance  by  sea,  the  losses 
by  river  and  land,  particularly  in  the  Indian  country,  and 
the  services  of  the  many  hands  through  which  both  the  mer- 
chandise and  the  furs  had  to  pass,  account  to  some  extent 
for  the  increase ;  but  there  was  still  a  heavy  increment  that 
represented  the  profits  of  the  trader.     That  these  profits 

assorted  at  two  dollars  per  pound,  handkerchiefs  assorted  at  one  dollar 
fifty  cents  each,  ribbons  assorted  at  three  dollars  per  bolt,  buttons  at  five 
dollars  per  gross,  looking  glasses  at  fifty  cents  each,  flints  at  fifty  cents 
per  dozen,  mockasin  awls  at  twenty-five  cents  per  dozen,  tobacco  at 
one  dollar  twenty-five  cents  per  pound,  copper  kettles  at  three  dollars 
per  pound,  iron  buckles  assorted  at  two  dollars  fifty  cents  per  pound, 
fire  steels  at  two  dollars  per  pound,  dried  fruit  at  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  per  pound,  washing  soap  at  one  dollar  twenty-five  cents  per 
pound,  shaving  soap  at  two  dollars  per  pound,  first  quality  James  river 
tobacco  at  one  dollar  seventy-five  cents  per  pound,  steel  bracelets  at  one 
dollar  fifty  cents  per  pair,  large  brass  wire  at  two  dollars  per  pound.  " 


6  PROFITS    IN    THE    FUR    TRADE. 

were  enormous  is  sufficiently  attested  by  the  immense  for- 
tunes which  were  made  in  the  fur  trade. 

In  the  matter  of  profits  and  losses,  as  well  as  in  that  of 
volume  of  business,  there  are  numerous  early  authorities. 
Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  a  close  observer,  though  rather  too  opti- 
mistic, has  left  on  record  an  estimate  of  what  a  well-man- 
aged hunting  expedition,  in  the  best  days  of  the  fur  trade, 
might  reasonably  be  expected  to  accomplish.  ^  According 
to  this  estimate  the  cost  of  an  invoice  of  merchandise  at  the 
Teton  mountains,  or  in  that  vicinity,  was  about  four  hun- 
dred per  cent  of  its  first  cost  in  the  eastern  market.  This 
increase  was  taken  up  by  the  expenses  of  interest,  insurance, 
wagons,  provisions  for  food  until  the  buffalo  country  was 
reached,  horses  and  mules,  pack  and  riding  saddles,  blankets, 
pack  covers,  halters,  bridles,  horse  shoeing,  and  other  ex- 
penses incidental  to  the  transportation  of  the  goods  across 
the  plains.  If  the  furs  were  obtained  through  hired  trap- 
pers, the  wages  were  paid  in  goods  at  an  advance  of  about 
six  hundred  per  cent  upon  their  cost  in  the  mountains.  The 
wages  of  a  hunter  being  counted  at  four  hundred  dollars 
per  year  and  of  common  men  who  did  the  work  of  camp 
at  two  hundred,  a  party  of  twenty  hunters  and  ten  camp 
keepers,  with  their  necessary  horses  (wliich  "  cost  about  $4 
in  goods  prime  cost  in  Boston  or  New  York")  could  be 
kept  in  the  field  for  one  year  for  not  to  exceed  two  thousand 
dollars.  With  average  success  each  hvmter  would  take  one 
hundred  and  twenty  beaver  skins  in  this  time,  the  value  of 
vidiich,  in  Boston  or  New  York,  was  about  one  thousand 
dollars.  With  due  allowance  for  the  cost  of  the  return 
journey,  the  outlay  of  two  thousand  dollars  would  net  in 
the  neighborhood  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  "  This,  as 
you  will  perceive,  will  leave  a  large  profit,  "  is  the  logical 
deduction  by  the  author  of  this  simple  calculation.  Of 
course  such  successful  enterprises  were  of  rare  occurrence, 
for  there  were  many  sources  of  loss  in  these  perilous  expedi- 
tions, but  there  are  nevertheless  authenticated  instances  of 

'Sources  of  the  History  of  Oregon,  pp.  66  and  75. 


MAGNITUDE    OF    THE    TRADE.  7 

very  high  profits.  In  1827  the  house  of  Bernard  Pratte  and 
Company  joined  with  General  Ashley  in  equipping  an  expe- 
dition for  the  mountains.  The  whole  enterprise  lasted  only 
about  six  months  and  netted  the  company  seventy  per  cent 
profit  on  their  investment. 

In  the  Santa  Fe  trade  forty  per  cent  was  a  high  profit, 
while  the  average  was  between  fifteen  and  twenty  per  cent. 

In  regard  to  the  magnitude  of  the  trade  it  is  difBcult  to 
give  definite  figures;  but  the  following  table  of  statistics 
compiled  about  1832  by  Indian  Agent  John  Dougherty,  em- 
bracing the  fifteen  years  from  181 5  to  1830,  gives  a  fair 
idea,  not  only  of  the  extent  of  the  trade,  but  of  the  wages 
paid,  the  prices  of  furs,  and  the  ])rofits  realized,  during  this 
period.  ^ 

EXPENDITURES. 

20  clerks,  15  years,  @  $500  per  year $  150,000 

200  men,  15  years,  @  $150  per  year 450,000 

Merchandise  1,500,000 

RETURNS. 

26,000  buffalo  skins  per  yr.  for  15  yrs.  @  $3  each.  .$1,170,000 

25,000  beaver  skins  per  yr.  for  15  yrs.  @  $4  each.  .  1,500,000 

4,000  otter  skins  per  yr.  for  15  yrs.  @  $3  each 180,000 

l2,oco  coon  skins  per  yr.  for  15  yrs.  @  25c.  each. .  45,000 
150,000  lbs.  deer  skins  per  yr.  for  15  yrs.  @  33c. 

per  lb 742.500 

37,500  muskrat  skins  per  yr.  for  15  yrs.  @  20c.  each.  112,500 

Total   $3,750,000 

Total  profit $1,650,000 

Average  annual  expenditure $    140,000 

Average  annual  returns 250,000 

Average  annual  profit 1 10,000 

At  an  anniversary  celebration  of  the   founding  of   St. 

'  The  actual  number  of  persons  engaged  in  the  fur  trade,  either  as  | 
traders  or  employers,  it  is  impossible  to  determine  with  accuracy ;  but  / 
it  was  not  large.  Including  those  who  traded  to  Santa  Fe,  it  is  not 
probable  that  the  number  ever  exceeded  one  thousand,  while  the  aver- 
age was  nearer  half  ihat  number.  Judged  by  the  volume  of  business 
alone  the  fur  trade  was  of  relatively  insignificant  proportions  ;  but  its 
importance  and  historic  interest  depend  upon  other  and  quite  different 
considerations. 


8  LOSSES    OF    LIFE    AND    PROPERTY. 

Louis,  held  on  the  15th  of  February,  1847,  it  was  stated  that 
the  annual  value  of  the  St.  Louis  fur  trade  for  the  past  forty 
years  had  been  between  two  and  three  hundred  thousand 
dollars;  and  this  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  estimate  for  the 
period  covered  by  our  present  studies. 

The  losses  incident  to  the  business  of  the  fur  trade  were, 
in  the  very  nature  of  things,  large.  They  arose  almost 
entirely  from  encounters  with  hostile  Indians  and  involved 
both  life  and  property.  The  danger  of  losing  horses  was  an 
ever  present  peril,  for  even  friendly  Indians  had  no  compunc- 
tions about  stealing  these  animals.  Reliable  statistics  cov- 
ering the  period  from  1820  to  1831  give  the  losses  of  life 
from  the  Indians  at  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  and  the  loss 
of  property  at  a  hundred  thousand  dollars.  It  is  probable 
that,  for  the  entire  period  from  1806  to  1843,  these  figures 
should  be  doubled.  ^ 

Such  is  a  general  view  of  the  American  fur  trade  as  con- 
ducted from  St.  Louis  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Its  more  important  special  features,  such  as  its 
relation  to  the  Indians,  the  traffic  in  liquor,  the  evils  of  com- 
petition among  the  traders,  the  class  of  men  engaged  in  the 
business,  and  the  kind  of  life  which  it  developed,  will  be 
separately  considered. 

*  According  to  Andrew  Drips  there  died  at  the  hands  of  the  Indians 
in  the  year  1844  thirteen  employes  of  the  licensed  traders  and  nine  free 
trappers. 


CHAPTER  II. 

RELATIONS    WITH    THE    INDIANS. 

Importance  of  the  Indian  to  the  fur  trade  —  Relation  of  the  trader 
and  the  Indian  —  Policy  of  the  government  toward  the  Indian  —  The 
factory  system  —  Mistake  of  tlie  government  —  Downfall  of  the  system. 

'^T  HE  most  important  single  factor  in  the  business  of  the 
^  fur  trade  was  the  presence  of  the  Indian  in  the  coun- 
try where  that  trade  was  carried  on.  It  controlled  the  whole 
system  of  conducting  the  business.  To  a  considerable  ex- 
tent the  Indians  were  themselves  the  producers :  that  is,  they 
trapped  the  beaver  and  hunted  the  buffalo,  whose  skins  they 
exchanged  for  whatever  the  white  men  brought  into  their 
country.  Even  when  the  companies  did  their  own  trapping 
it  was  necessary  to  take  account  of  the  Indian,  for  he  did 
not  always  approve  of  the  invasion  of  his  country  by  the 
paleface,  and  often  resisted  it  by  force.  The  hunting  and 
trapping  parties  had  therefore  to  be  ever  on  the  alert  lest 
they  fall  victims  to  a  crafty  and  savage  foe. 

Had  there  been  no  native  inhabitants  in  the  country  the 
conduct  of  the  fur  trade  would  have  been  radically  different. 
All  the  furs  would  have  been  taken  directly  by  the  hunters 
and  trappers.  There  would  have  been  but  few  permanent 
posts  instead  of  the  many  that  were  required  to  accommo- 
date the  various  tribes.  No  merchandise  would  have  been 
carried  into  the  interior  to  exchange  for  furs,  for  there 
would  have  been  no  one  to  exchange  it  with.  The  innum- 
erable tragedies  of  the  plains,  in  which  so  many  brave  men 
lost  their  lives,  would  not  have  taken  place.  It  is  indeed 
difficult  to  estimate  the  degree  to  which  the  fur  trade  was 
controlled  by  the  Indian,  while  its  far-reaching  counter- 


X 


lO  RELATION    OF    INDIAN    AND    TRADER. 

influence  upon  the  tribes  cannot,  at  this  remote  time,  be  ade- 
quately realized. 

The  relation  of  the  trader  to  the  Indian  was  the  most 
natural  and  congenial  of  any  which  the  two  races  have  ever 
sustained  toward  each  other.  Properly  conducted,  it  fitted 
perfectly  with  the  Indian's  previous  mode  of  life,  really  pro- 
moted his  happiness,  and  gave  him  no  cause  for  complaint. 
It  enabled  him  to  piu-sue  his  natural  occupation  of  hunting, 
while  it  introduced  just  enough  of  the  civilized  customs  of 
exchange  to  furnish  him  with  those  simpler  articles  which 
directly  promoted  the  comfort  of  his  daily  life.  The  Indian 
likewise  fitted  in  perfectly  with  the  white  man's  purposes  of 
trade.  It  was  better  that  the  native  occupant  of  the  soil,  so 
far  as  practicable,  should  garner  its  resources  and  bring 
them  in  for  exchange,  than  that  the  white  hunters  should 
scatter  themselves  in  lawless  bands  over  the  country  for  this 
purpose.  By  far  the  larger  part  of  the  fur  was  taken  by  the 
Indians  and  came  into  the  possession  of  the  traders  only  by 
exchange,  and  it  was  in  this  traffic  that  the  white  man  first 
made  his  acquaintance  with  the  tribes.  From  this  starting 
point  the  two  races  came  gradually  into  closer  contact  until 
finally  the  Indian  became  dependent  upon  his  white  brother, 
relinquishing  little  by  little  his  former  method  of  life,  acquir- 
ing new  wants,  becoming  corrupted  by  new  vices,  and  drift- 
ing insensibly  into  that  intricate  relationship  with  the  United 
States  government  which  is  known  in  our  history  as  the 
Indian  Question. 

It  would  be  alike  idle  and  unjust  at  this  period  of  our  na- 
tional history  to  arraign  the  methods  of  the  government  in 
its  dealings  with  the  Indians  —  idle  because  the  past  is 
behind  us;  unjust  because,  whatever  its  failures,  the  pur- 
poses of  the  government  towards  the  native  races  within  its 
domain  have  ever  been  those  of  paternal  benevolence.  A 
fundamental  misconception  of  the  nature  of  the  Indian  prob- 
lem underlies  the  common  assumption  that  a  very  different 
result  might  and  ought  to  have  ensued,  and  that  the  policy 
of  our  government  in  its  treatment  of  the  Indian  has  been 


THE    GOVERNMENT    AND    THE    INDIANS.  II 

actuated  by  motives  unworthy  of  an  enlig-htened  people.  It^"^  /^ 
■  ignores  the  operation  of  that  evolutionary  process  by  which  -'^^ 
a  weaker  race  disappears  before  a  superior  in  spite  of  all  that 
laws  or  military  force  can  do  to  prevent.^  That  the  aborig- 
inal tribes  were  doomed  to  complete  displacement  on  the  soil 
of  their  nativity  after  once  the  European  races  had  discov- 
ered this  continent  is  a  proposition  that  few  will  care  to 
deny.  A  change  so  fundamental,  involving  loss  of  land,  in- 
stitutions, customs,  and  the  innermost  functions  of  social 
life,  was  not  one  that  could  be  accomplished  without  pain 
and  apparent  wrong.  But  the  change  was  as  inevitable  as 
the  progress  of  the  stars,  and  the  only  ground  for  criticism 
of  those  concerned  in  it  is  whether  or  not  they  have  unneces- 
sarily added  to  its  burden  of  sorrow  and  sufifering. 

The  policy  of  government,  so  far  as  it  has  been  able  to 
control  this  course  of  unavoidable  change,  has  always  been 
the  highest  good  of  the  Indian.  While  it  was  powerless  to 
save  the  Indian's  lands,  or  to  preserve  his  customs  from  ex- 
tinction, it  has  ever  sought  to  ameliorate  an  unhappy  situa- 
tion and  to  secure  the  most  ample  reparation  for  an  irreme- 
diable loss.  The  failures  of  the  government  have  never 
been  those  of  purpose,  but  rather  those  of  lack  of  ability  to 
carry  its  purposes  into  effect.  The  very  nature  of  our  gov- 
ernment, essentially  w^eak  in  controlling  its  citizens  and  in 
exercising  arbitrary  interference  with  what  they  deem  to  be  " 
their  rights,  was  a  powerful  draw^back  as  compared  with 
the  more  centralized  power  of  a  government  like  that  of 
Great  Britain.  This  weakness  showed  itself  particularly 
in  those  details  of  administration  by  which  its  humane  and 
benevolent  purposes  were  to  have  been  accomplished.  The 
prostitution  of  the  Indian  service  to  mere  personal  or  par- 
tisan advantage,  and  the  placing  of  those  delicate  and  vital 
questions  at  the  mercy  of  political  adventurers,  were  crimes 
which  must  ever  leave  a  stain  on  the  American  name. 
Herein,  whether  avoidably  or  not,  the  government  has  been 
irredeemably  at  fault.  It  has  sinned  knowingly  —  sinned 
with  the  consequences  patent  to  its  eyes  —  and  from  the 


12  THE    FACTORY    SYSTEM. 

paltriest  and  basest  of  motives  that  can  guide  the  poHcy  of  a 
nation. 

Two  examples  bearing  directly  upon  our  present  work 
will  be  cited  to  show  how  strong  has  been  the  purpose  of  the 
government  to  deal  justly  by  the  Indian,  but  how  helpless  it 
has  been  in  carrying  out  this  purpose.  The  first  is  that  of 
the  government  factory  system  established  to  control  the 
trade  with  the  Indians,  and  the  second  is  that  of  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  liquor  traffic  in  the  Indian  country. 

The  factory  system  which  prevailed  during  the  first  two 
decades  of  the  century  arose  from  a  growing  conviction  on 
the  part  of  the  government  that  a  solution  of  the  Indian 
question  could  not  be  indefinitely  postponed ;  and  that,  how- 
ever it  might  be  deferred  by  moving  the  Indians  farther  and 
farther  West,  it  would  ever  arise  anew  and  clamor  for  set- 
tlement. It  was  therefore  better  to  grapple  with  it  seri- 
ously from  the  start,  and  to  this  end  it  was  important  that 
the  government  should  stand  in  closer  relations  with  the 
tribes.  It  was  justly  concluded  that  it  would  be  wiser  for 
the  government  to  conduct  the  Indian  trade  itself.  It  could 
thus  secure  to  the  Indian  his  due,  protect  him  from  impos- 
ture, save  him  from  the  deadly  effects  of  alcohol,  and  wean 
him  gradually  from  his  tribal  life,  so  that,  when  the  tide  of 
settlement  should  have  swallowed  up  his  domains  and  have 
destroyed  his  ancient  means  of  subsistence,  he  would  accept 
his  new  situation  without  deep  reluctance.  ^ 

To  this  end  Congress  in  1796  made  an  appropriation  for 
the  establishment  of  a  "  liberal  trade  with  the  Indians.  " 
Factories  or  trading  houses  were  located  at  various  points  in 
the  Indian  country,  at  which  was  kept  the  usual  line  of 
Indian  goods.  "     It  was  intended  to  dispose  of  these  goods 

* "  These  views  are  substantially  founded  upon  the  conviction  that 
it  is  the  true  policy  and  earnest  desire  of  the  government  to  draw  its 
savage  neighbors  within  the  pale  of  civilization." 

W.  H.  Crawford,  Secretary  of  War. 

*  The  factories  were  mainly  located  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  only 
one  on  the  Missouri,  viz.,  at  Fort  Osage,  forty  miles  below  the  present 
site  of  Kansas  City. 


DEFECTS    OF    THE    SYSTEM.  1 3 

to  the  Indians  in  exchange  for  furs  at  rates  which  would 
simply  make  the  factories  self-sustaining.  In  this  way  the 
Indian  would  get  his  goods  at  cost,  an  advantage  which  it 
was  thought  would  be  so  palpable  that  he  would  patronize 
the  factories  in  preference  to  the  private  trader. 

The  system  was  well  conceived  and  it  should  have  suc- 
ceeded. The  reason  why  it  did  not  succeed  is  perfectly  ap- 
parent and  must  have  been  so  at  the  time.  The  govern- 
ment did  not  have  the  courage  of  its  convictions.  It  should 
have  taken  the  field  to  itself,  just  as  it  does  in  the  carrying  of 
mails,  the  coining  of  money,  and  the  making  of  war.  In- 
stead of  doing  this  it  granted  trading  licenses  to  private  par- 
ties and  thus  degraded  itself  to  the  level  of  a  competing 
trader  among  a  horde  of  irresponsible  and  frequently  law- 
less rivals.  The  fate  of  the  factory  system  was  thus  sealed 
from  the  beginning.  The  practices  of  the  private  traders 
were  not  such  as  the  government  could  afiford  to  permit  in 
its  agents.  It  was  a  part  of  the  government  plan  to  let  the 
Indians  hunt  as  of  old,  untrammeled  by  the  presence  of  the 
white  man,  and  bring  furs  to  the  factory  for  sale.  It 
was  also,  though  probably  unwisely,  a  rule  not  to  supply  the 
Indians  on  credit,  hoping,  rather  chimerically,  to  inculcate 
habits  of  thrift  in  this  way.  The  shrewd  private  trader 
promptly  took  advantage  of  this  situation.  He  advanced 
an  outfit  on  credit  to  the  improvident  Indian  when  about  to 
start  on  his  hunt,  and  thus  virtually  laid  a  mortgage  on  the 
products  of  his  labor.  He  did  not  await  his  debtor's  re- 
turn, but  made  payment  sure  by  accompanying  him  on  his 
hunts,  and  securing  his  furs  as  fast  as  they  were  taken. 

The  factories  would  not  dispense  liquor  to  the  natives,  but 
the  private  trader  smuggled  it  into  the  country  and  was  thus 
armed  with  that  weapon,  which,  more  than  any  other,  was 
certain  of  victory  in  any  contest  for  the  favor  of  the  Indian. 

The  factories  did  not  use  the  best  articles  in  their  trade, 
for  the  rule  of  requiring  the  government  to  patronize 
home  industries,  even  whsn  to  its  o-reat  disadvantage,  ex- 
eluded  it  from  the  markets  where  the  best  goods  were  to  be 


14  GOVERNMENT    TRANSACTION    OF    BUSINESS. 

had.  It  was  thus  handicapped  again,  for  the  Indian  was  not 
slow  to  note  the  difference  between  the  goods  offered  him  by 
the  government  and  those  brought  to  him  by  the  private 
trader. 

The  trader  wdio  followed  the  Indians  in  their  hunts  was 
usually  well  acquainted  with  them,  understood  their  lan- 
guage and  customs  and  was  virtually  one  of  themselves. 
The  government  trader,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a  salaried 
official,  most  likely  a  political  employe,  not  versed  in  the 
business  of  dealing  with  the  Indians,  and  essentially  a  stran- 
ger to  them. 

The  government,  moreover,  in  its  intercourse  with  the  In- 
dians, was  slow  to  grasp  the  fact  that  it  was  not  deal- 
ing with  experienced  business  men,  but  with  children.  It 
made  them  few  presents,  and  often  failed  to  observe  those 
childish  formalities  so  essential  in  the  eyes  of  the  punctilious 
savage.  The  private  trader  profited  by  all  this,  and  in 
spite  of  the  cheaper  price  of  goods  at  the  factories,  he  often 
succeeded  in  securing  the  greater  part  of  the  trade. 

It  is  apparent  that  none  of  these  drawbacks  would  have 
had  any  weight  if  private  traders  had  been  excluded  from 
the  field.  The  government  could  not  descend  to  their  meth- 
ods consistently  with  the  polic}'^  of  dignified  bearing  and 
paternal  regard  for  its  dependents,  which  were  to  be  the 
chief  aim  and  end  of  its  proposed  system  of  trade.  It 
should  therefore  have  saved  itself  from  the  humiliation  of 
these  small  rivalries  and  competitions  by  taking  the  entire 
field  to  itself.  It  would  have  been  in  every  way  better  for 
all  concerned,  except  the  individual  trader.  It  is  a  common 
fallacy  to  assume  that,  because  the  government  may  not  be 
able  to  compete  with  private  individuals  in  the  transaction 
of  a  particular  business,  it  therefore  cannot  transact  that 
business  as  well  as  they.  No  mistake  could  be  greater. 
The  fact  that  the  government  may  be  driven  from  a  field,  be- 
cause it  will  not  stoop  to  the  methods  of  private  competition, 
is  no  reason  to  assume  that,  if  sole  occupant,  it  would  not 
render  the  public  better  service  than  private  parties  would. 


OVERTHROW    OF    FACTORY    SYSTEM.  1 5 

The  fatal  error  is  to  enter  the  field  as  a  competitor,  for  this 
deprives  the  government  of  the  power  to  carry  out  its  better 
ideas,  and  at  once  degrades  it  to  the  standards  of  business 
employed  against  it. 

So  it  was  in  the  case  under  consideration.     A  system  es- 
tablished for  the  good  of  the  Indians  soon  became,  in  these 
untoward  circumstances,   unpopular  with  its  beneficiaries, 
and  excited  the  contempt  of  those  untutored  beings  who 
were  little  prone  to  investigate  hidden  causes,  but  always 
judged  from  superficial  appearances.     In  proportion  as  it 
fell  in  the  esteem  of  the  Indians  the  traders  became  bold  in 
their  outcries  against  it.     The  great  American  Fur  Com- 
pany was  its  most  formidable  assailant  through  the  aggres- 
sive attacks  of  Ramsay  Crooks,'^  that  clear-headed,  incisive. 
and  fearless  man  of  affairs  who  had  risen  to  the  general 
agency  of  the  company.     He  w^as  ably  seconded  by  the  St. 
Louis  traders  and  the  campaign  in  Congress  was  skilfully 
handled  by  that  astute  leader  (or  rather,  follower)  of  the 
people,  Missouri's  greatest  statesman.  Senator  Thomas  H. 
Benton.     The  fight  was  a  prolonged  and  severe  one,  for  the      ^7 
government  defended  the  system  with  a  consciousness  of  its     1  >  y 
high  merits  and  of  the  fact  that  it  had  never  had  half  a«.=4^^^ 
chance  for  its  life.     The  struggle  ended  in  the  overthrow  of     V^ 
the  system  in  March.  1822. 

In  spite  of  certain  defects  of  management  the  factory 
system,  during  its  twenty-six  years'  existence,  clearly  estab- 
lished its  ability  to  fulfil  the  expectations  of  its  founders. 
No   better   evidence   of  this   need   be   sought   than   in   the 

'  The  vigorous  manner  in  which  Crooks  attacked  the  factory  system 
is  well  illustrated  in  the  forcible  language  with  which  he  congratulated 
Senator  Benton,  upon  its  overthrow.  "  I  have  been  honored  this  morn- 
ing, "  he  wrote  on  April  i,  1822,  "with  your  favor  of  Friday  last  and 

hasten  to  congratulate  you  on  your   decisive  victory The 

result  is  the  best  possible  proof  of  the  value  to  the  country  of  talents, 
intelligence,  and  perseverance,  and  you  deserve  the  unqualified  thanks 
of  the  community  for  destroying  the  pious  monster,  since  to  your 
unwearied  exertions  and  sound  practical  knowledge  of  the  whole  sub- 
ject the  country  is  indebted  for  its  deliverance  from  so  gross  and  un- 
holy an  imposition   [!]."' 


l6  CENTURY    OF    DISHONOR. 

Strenuous  efforts  of  its  enemies  to  get  rid  of  it.  The  cor- 
respondence of  the  times  shows  that  the  factories  absorbed  a 
goodly  share  of  the  trade.  "  As  it  [the  Indian  trade]  now 
stands,"  wrote  Charles  Gratiot  to  John  Jacob  Astor  in  1814, 
"  it  is  too  precarious  for  anybody  to  hazard  anything  in  it 
unless  the  factories  were  to  be  abolished."  The  official  rec- 
ords show  that  until  near  the  close  of  its  career,  in  spite  of 
the  obstacles  it  had  to  contend  with  and  the  losses  growing 
out  of  the  War  of  18 12,  it  was  self-sustaining. 

Thus  ended  in  failure  a  system  fraught  with  possibilities 
of  great  good  to  the  Indian  —  a  system,  which,  if  followed 
out  as  it  should  have  been,  would  have  led  the  Indian  to  his 
new  destiny  by  easy  stages  and  would  have  averted  the  long 
and  bloody  wars,  the  corruption  and  bad  faith,  which  have 
gained  for  a  hundred  years  of  our  dealings  with  the  Indians 
the  unenviable  distinction  of  a  "  Century  of  Dishonor." 


CHAPTER  III. 

EVIL  EFFECTS  OF  COMPETITION. 

Example  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  —  Weakness  of  the  govern- 
ment—  Door  thrown  open  to  all  —  Influence  upon  the  Indians  — 
British  competition. 

*jI\AVING  withdrawn  from  direct  participation  in  the 
"•^  Indian  trade,  the  obvious  duty  of  the  government  was 
to  adopt  some  method  of  control  which  should  secure  to  the 
Indian  the  benefits  intended  to  flow  from  the  factory  system. 
There  was  only  one  way  to  do  this,  and  that  was  to  grant  to 
some  company  a  monopoly  of  the  trade.  The  example  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company  is  evidence  of  the  great  advan- 
tage to  all  concerned  of  the  exclusion  of  competition  in  a 
business  like  the  Indian  trade.  Except  in  those  years  when 
that  company  was  struggling  for  supremacy  with  the  North- 
west Company,  or  when  competing  with  American  traders 
along  the  border,  the  conduct  of  its  business  was  admirably 
adapted  to  secure  the  greatest  good  to  the  Indian.  The  sale 
of  liquor  was  interdicted.  The  trade  was  upon  a  fixed 
basis  as  to  prices.  The  traders  were  men  of  long  experience 
with  the  Indians  and  nearly  all  related  to  them  by  marriage. 
In  all  its  bearings  the  policy  pursued  by  this  great  company 
combined  what  was  best  in  both  the  factory  system  and  the 
practice  of  private  traders  in  the  United  States.  The  result 
was  that  the  company  was  nearly  always  at  peace  with  the 
Indians  and  avoided  those  needless  misunderstandings 
which  produced  such  deplorable  results  south  of  the 
boundary. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  system  of  monopoly  was 
better  for  all  concerned  than  the  unrestrained  competition 


1 8  MONOPOLY    OF    TRADE    UN-AMERICAN. 

which  was  the  rule  among  American  traders.  It  was  im- 
measurably better  for  the  Indians.  It  was  much  more  con- 
ducive to  the  preservation  of  the  fur-bearing  animals.  It 
did  not  operate  any  more  favorably  for  the  few  at  the  head 
and  against  the  many  in  the  ranks  than  did  the  system  of 
trade  in  the  United  States;  for  surely  the  magnates  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  did  not  outdo  Astor,  the  Chouteaus, 
the  Ashleys,  the  Campbells,  and  the  Sublettes  in  the  accumu- 
lation of  fortunes,  while  the  underlings  of  the  great  monop- 
oly were  in  every  way  better  off  than  those  of  the  American 
companies. 

Here  again  the  government  was  confronted  by  its  ov^-n 
weakness.  The  same  unreasonable  prejudice  which  drove 
it  out  of  the  Indian  trade  opposed  with  tenfold  greater 
vehemence  the  granting  of  any  exclusive  privilege  in  that 
trade.  The  mere  suggestion  at  one  time  that  such  a  privi- 
lege be  granted  the  American  Fur  Company  (for  Ramsay 
Crooks  was  ready  enough  to  take  into  the  bosom  of  his 
company  the  "  pious  monster  "  which  he  had  lately  made 
such  exertions  to  destroy)  called  forth  a  storm  of  protest 
which  caused  the  matter  to  be  dropped  as  if  it  had  been  a  red 
hot  iron.  The  spirit  of  American  institutions  was  opposed 
to  monopoly  of  all  kinds,  and  in  a  government  w^here  the 
power  rests  directly  with  the  people,  the  creation  of  such  a 
monopoly  was  an  impossibility.  Thus,  in  two  essential 
respects,  the  government  of  the  United  States  was  power- 
less to  carry  out  the  policy  which  it  knew  to  be  best. 

There  was  only  one  course  left  —  to  make  the  field  free 
to  all  comers  with  special  favors  to  none.  That  was  the  true 
democratic  policy  but  the  most  unwise  that  could  have  been 
adopted.  It  opened  up  that  never-ending  commercial 
rivalry  in  which  the  survival  of  the  strongest  was  the  only 
road  to  supremacy.  It  was  a  fatal  error,  as  we  shall  see, 
and  one  that  lay  at  the  root  of  many  of  our  later  troubles 
with  the  Indians. 

The  principle  thus  introduced  into  the  Indian  trade  was 
indeed   no   other   than   that   which   obtains   in   nearly   all 


BRITISH    COMPETITION.  21 

from  the  frequent  complaints  of  the  American  traders,  the 
matter  was  a  really  serious  one,  but  it  is  not  possible  to  dis- 
cover any  specific  instance  in  which  they  suffered  from  this 
cause.  The  British  had  the  advantage  in  this  alleged  com- 
petition of  being  allowed  to  import  liquor,  which  was 
prohibited  to  the  Americans.  They  could  also  sell  their 
goods  cheaper  because  Americans  had  to  pay  import  duty. 
Both  of  these  matters  were  made  the  subject  of  repeated 
expostulation  with  the  government  by  officials  of  the  Amer- 
ican Fur  Company.^ 

^  Thus,  John  Jacob  Astor  to  Senator  Benton,  Jan.  29,  1829 :  "  It  is 
known  that  none  of  the  woolen  goods  fit  for  the  Indian  trade,  such 
as  Indian  blankets,  strouds,  and  cloths  of  particular  descriptions,  are 
as  yet  manufactured  in  this  country.  We  are  therefore  obliged  to 
import  them  from  England,  and  it  so  happens  that  those  are  just  the 
articles  paying  the  heaviest  duty.  The  English  traders  have  theirs  free 
of  duty,  which  enables  them  to  bring  their  goods  60  per  cent  and  over 
cheaper  than  what  we  pay  and  they  are  thereby  enabled  to  under- 
sell us.  Their  furs  and  skins  cost  them  little  more  than  half  what  we 
have  to  pay  for  ours.  But  this  is  not  all.  They  are  by  these  means  en- 
abled to  send  their  furs  here  [New  York]  and  actually  do  come  and 
undersell  the  American  traders.  It  is  unaccountable  that  they  should 
be  permitted  to  bring  their  furs  here  free  of  duty,  while  we,  if  we  send 
any  to  the  British  dominions,  are  obliged  to  pay  15  per  cent  duty." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  LIQUOR  TRAFFIC. 

Desire  of  the  government  to  exclude  liquor  from  the  Indian  country 
—  Use  of  liquor  by  British  traders  —  The  practice  of  smuggling  — 
Fraudulent  use  of  liquor  —  Advantages  of  monoply  —  Liquor  for  boat- 
men —  Competition  of  the  British  —  Extracts  from  correspondence  — 
Law  prohibiting  liquor  traffic  —  Inferences. 

"^^  HE  control  of  the  liquor  traffic  was  the  second  of  the 
^^  examples  previously  cited  of  the  helplessness  of  the  gov- 
ernment to  give  effect  to  its  better  intentions  toward  the 
Indian.  The  degrading  and  demoralizing  influence  of 
intoxicating  spirits  upon  the  Indian  was  well  understood 
from  the  experience  of  two  centuries  of  frontier  life.  The 
government  earnestly  desired  to  avoid,  in  its  future  dealings 
with  these  people,  a  repetition  of  these  evils,  and  this  was 
one  of  the  considerations  which  led  to  the  establishment  of 
the  factory  system.  When  that  system  was  abandoned,  and 
even  before,  great  care  was  taken  to  guard  against  abuses  by 
private  traders  who  were  forbidden  to  sell  liquor  to  the 
Indians.  They  were,  however,  allowed  to  take  a  certain 
amount  on  their  expeditions  for  the  use  of  their  employes; 
but  ^vhen  it  became  apparent  that  the  liquor  so  taken  was 
most  of  it  gwen  (not  sold,  for  that  would  violate  the  law!) 
to  the  Indians,  this  privilege  was  taken  away,  and  the  impor- 
tation of  liquor  into  the  Indian  country  was  interdicted 
altogether.  Inspectors  were  stationed  at  Leavenworth, 
Bellevue,  and  other  places  to  enforce  this  prohibition. 

But  the  efforts  of  the  government  were  wholly  ineffectual. 
In  opening  the  door  to  free  competition  in  the  Indian  trade, 
it  had  nullified  in  advance  any  provision  which  it  might 


LIQUOR    SMUGGLING,  23 

enact  for  the  exclusion  of  ardent  spirits.  Liquor  was  the 
most  powerful  weapon  which  the  traders  could  employ  in 
their  struggles  with  one  another.  Its  attraction  for  the 
Indian  was  irresistible,  and  by  means  of  it  he  could  be 
robbed  of  everything  he  possessed.  No  trader  could  do  any 
business  without  it  if  his  opponents  were  supplied  with  it. 
It  was  therefore  the  one  indispensable  article  which  the 
traders  must  have  at  any  hazard.^ 

Another  condition  operated  to  the  same  end.  The  British 
traders  made  free  use  of  liquor  along  the  border  when  in 
competition  with  the  American  traders.  As  they  were  out- 
side of  even  the  nominal  control  of  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, the  American  traders  were  completely  at  their 
mercy  unless  they  could  use  liquor  in  their  turn.  Earnest 
efforts  were  made  to  secure  permission  to  use  it  in  this  par- 
ticular locality,  but  the  government,  rightly  fearing  that  a 
qualified  restriction  would  be  of  little  value,  and  that  liquor 
once  in  the  Indian  country  would  find  its  way  wherever  it 
was  wanted,  steadily  refused  any  relaxation  of  its  rules. 

There  thus  arose  that  stupen'dous  practice  of  smuggling 
ardent  spirits  into  the  Indian  country,  which  was  a  promi- 
nent feature  of  the  entire  history  of  the  Indian  trade.  The 
depths  of  rascality  into  which  this  traf^c  fell  might  well 
stagger  belief  were  they  not  substantiated  by  the  most  posi- 
tive evidence.  The  liquor  was  generally  imported  in  the 
form  of  alcohol,  because  of  the  smaller  compass  for  the 
same  amount  of  poison.  It  was  stored  in  every  conceiva- 
ble form  of  package.  In  overland  journeys  it  was  generally 
carried  in  short,  flat  kegs,  which  would  rest  conveniently  on 
the  sides  of  a  pack  mule.  When  carried  by  water  it  was 
concealed  in  flour  barrels,  bales  of  merchandise,  or  any- 
where that  it  would  most  likely  escape  discovery.     Some 

* "  So  violent  is  the  attachment  of  the  Indian  for  it  that  he  who  gives 
most  is  sure  to  obtain  the  furs,  while  should  any  one  attempt  to  trade 
without  it  he  is  sure  of  losing  ground  with  his  antagonist.  No  bar- 
gain is  ever  made  without  it."  Thomas  Biddle  to  Henry  Atkinson, 
Oct.  29,  1819. 


24  THE  INDIAN   DEFRAUDED. 

instances  of  the  sharp  practice  indulged  in  to  avoid  detection 
by  government  inspectors  will  presently  be  given.^ 

In  retailing  the  poisonous  stuff  (a  pure  article  never 
found  its  way  to  the  Indian)  the  degree  of  deception  and 
cheating  could  not  have  been  carried  further.  A  baneful 
and  noxious  substance  to  begin  with,  it  was  retailed  with 
the  most  systematic  fraud,  often  amounting  to  a  sheer 
exchange  of  nothing  for  the  goods  of  the  Indian.  It  was 
the  policy  of  the  shrewd  trader  first  to  get  his  victim  so 
intoxicated  that  he  could  no  longer  drive  a  good  bargain. 
The  Indian,  becoming  more  and  more  greedy  for  liquor, 
would  yield  up  all  he  possessed  for  an  additional  cup  or  two. 
The  voracious  trader,  not  satisfied  with  selling  his  alcohol  at 
a  profit  of  many  thousand  per  cent,  would  now  begin  to  cheat 
in  quantity.  As  he  filled  the  little  cup  which  was  the  stand- 
ard of  measure,  he  would  thrust  in  his  big  thumb  and 
diminish  its  capacity  by  one-third.  Sometimes  he  would 
substitute  another  cup  with  the  bottom  thickened  up  by 
running  tallow  in  until  it  was  a  third  full.  He  would  also 
dilute  the  liquor  until,  as  the  Indian's  senses  became  more 
and  more  befogged,  he  would  treat  him  to  water  pure  and 
simple.  In  all  this  outrageous  imposition,  by  which  the 
Indian  was  virtually  robbed  of  his  goods,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed that  the  tricks  of  the  trader  had  at  least  this  in  their 
favor  that  they  spared  the  unhappy  and  deluded  savage 
from  a  portion  of  the  liquor  which  he  supposed  he  was 
getting.  The  duplicity  and  crime  for  which  this  unhallowed 
traffic  is  responsible  in  our  relations  with  the  Indians  have 
been  equalled  but  seldom  in  even  the  most  corrupt  of 
nations. 

This  is  another  instance  where  the  granting  of  a  monopoly 
in  the  trade  would  have  been  the  better  plan.  The  more 
responsible  companies  always  deplored  the  use  of  liquor, 
and,  moreover,  ran  great  risks  of  detection  if  they  smuggled 
it  into  the  country.  The  American  Fur  Company,  for 
example,  shipped  its  merchandise  in  great  cargoes  up  the 

•  See  Part  IV.,  Chapter  V. 


LIQUOR    FOR    BOATMEN.  .  25 

river,  and  it  was  impossible  to  evade  inspection  by  the 
authorities  at  Bellevue  or  Leavenworth.  But  the  small 
trader,  who  either  went  overland  or  picked  his  stealthy  way 
in  small  craft  up  the  river,  could  easily  escape  discovery  in 
that  unsettled  country.  It  thus  resulted  that,  while  the 
company  would  have  been  glad  to  join  hands  with  the  gov- 
ernment in  abolishing  the  liquor  traffic,  it  was  met  at  its  dis- 
tant posts  by  these  lawless  adventurers  equipped  with  this 
never-failing  passport  to  the  Indian's  favor.  It  was  forced 
in  self-defense  to  violate  the  regulations  and  to  become  a 
common  smuggler  with  those  who  had  no  standing  to  lose. 

In  order  that  the  view  here  given  of  the  vital  importance 
of  the  liquor  traffic  in  the  business  of  the  fur  trade  may  not 
appear  exaggerated,  some  extracts  will  be  given  from  the 
correspondence  of  the  traders  and  the  observations  of  travel- 
ers during  the  period  when  competition  was  at  its  height. 

The  two  extracts  which  follow  show  how  the  privileges 
granted  to  traders  in  their  annual  licenses  to  trade,  before 
the  introduction  of  liquor  into  the  Indian  country  was  pro- 
hibited altogether,  were  systematically  abused :  "  Permis- 
sion is  hereby  granted  to  William  L.  Sublette  to  take  to  the 

places  designated   for  carrying  on  trade (places 

enumerated  here)  not  exceeding  four  hundred  and  fifty 
gallons  of  whiskey  for  the  special  use  of  his  boatmen,  etc." 
He  was  compelled  to  give  bond  not  to  sell  liquor  to  the 
Indians.  The  shallowness  of  this  pretext  will  be  apparent 
when  it  is  known  that  in  the  year  to  which  this  license 
relates,  1832,  Sublette  took  his  expedition  overland  all  the 
way  to  the  valley  of  Pierre's  Hole  and  back  and  did  not  have, 
nor  expected  to  have,  occasion  to  use  a  single  boatman. 

Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  in  a  letter  to  Kenneth  McKenzie, 
dated  April  25,  1828,  thus  explains  how  liquor  was  gotten 
to  the  posts  of  the  interior  at  that  time :  "  The  government 
does  not  allow  us  to  use  liquor  in  our  trade  with  the  Indians. 
On  the  contrary  it  is  expressly  forbidden.  But  it  is  per- 
mitted to  take  one  gill  per  day  for  each  boatman  during  the 
period  of  their  absence  —  that  is,  for  twelve  months.     It  is 


20  HUDSON    BAY    COMPANY    AND    LIQUOR    TRAFFIC. 

on  this  ground  that  I  have  obtained  permission  to  take  an 
amount  corresponding  to  fifty  men,  twenty-seven  of  whom 
set  out  from  here  and  twenty-three  are  now  up  the  country, 
I  took  the  names  of  those  who  are  with  you,  v/ithout  know- 
ing whether  you  will  keep  them  or  send  them  back.  That 
makes  no  difference,  however,  for  I  explained  the  matter  to 
General  Clark."  In  this  way  about  three  hundred  gallons 
of  alcohol  went  up  the  river  to  relieve  the  necessities  of  the 
various  posts. 

When  the  bill  for  the  absolute  prohibition  of  the  impor- 
tation of  liquor  into  the  Indian  country  was  before  Congress, 
John  Jacob  Astor,  in  a  letter  to  General  W.  H.  Ashley, 
member  of  Congress,  dated  April  2nd,  1822,  thus  explained 
the  situation  at  the  upper  posts  of  the  Missouri  in  reference 
to  their  British  competitors :  "  A'Yherever  the  trade  is 
exclusively  in  the  hands  of  our  own  citizens,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  uniform  and  complete  enforcement  of  such  a 
law  will  be  beneficial  both  to  the  Indians  and  the  traders; 
but  at  those  points  where  we  come  in  contact  with  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  we  must  either  abandon  the  trade 
or  be  permitted  to  use  it,  to  a  limited  extent  at  least,  in  order 
to  counteract,  in  some  measure,  the  influence  of  our  rivals, 
who  can  introduce  any  quantity  they  please. 

"  Our  new  posts  on  the  Missouri  river  above  the  Mandans 
must  yield  to  the  superior  attractions  of  our  opponents, 
unless  the  government  will  permit  us  like  them  to  use 
spirituous  liquors ;  and  the  friendly  relations  we  have  at  last 
succeeded  in  establishing  wuth  the  Blackfeet  (those  invet- 
erate enemies  of  the  Americans)  at  so  much  expense  and 
personal  hazard,  must  inevitably  be  destroyed,  and  the 
British  be  restored  to  the  unlimited  control  they  have  here- 
tofore exercised  over  these  Indians. 

"  If  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  did  not  employ  ardent 
spirits  against  us,  we  would  not  ask  for  a  single  drop.  But 
without  it,  competition  is  hopeless;  for  the  attraction  is 
irresistible;  and  if  the  British  traders  alone  possess  the 
temptation,  they  will  unquestionably  not  only  maintain,  but 


LIQUOR    TRAFFIC    PROHIBITED.  2/ 

rivet  their  influence  over  all  the  Indians  within  their  reach, 
to  the  detriment  of  the  United  States,  in  alienating  their 
affections  from  us,  and  in  the  loss  of  a  trade  to  which  we 
have  an  undoubted  claim." 

The  bill  nevertheless  became  a  law  in  the  July  following.' 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  American  Fur  Company 
looked  forward  to  its  possible  enforcement  with  a  great  deal 
of  misgiving.  "  The  late  law,"  wrote  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr., 
to  Mr.  Astor,  "  prohibiting  absolutely  the  carrying  of  liquor 
to  our  trading  establishments  will  do  us  an  incalculable 
injury  at  all  the  posts  above  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone." 
Strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  secure  some  relaxation  in  the 
enforcement  of  the  law,  and  the  arguments  used  are  thus  re- 
corded by  Ramsay  Crooks,  who  urged  them  in  person  before 
the  Secretary  of  War :  "  I  explained  fully  to  Governor  Cass 
that  our  sole  and  only  wish  for  a  partial  supply  was  to  enable 
us  to  cope  with  our  Hudson  Bay  opponents  at  our  new  posts 
above  the  Mandans,  relinquishing  it  voluntarily  everywhere 
else  as  advantageous  both  to  the  natives  and  ourselves. 
.  .  .  I  pointed  out  the  pernicious  tendency  of  its  exclu- 
sion on  our  side,  while  they  enjoyed  the  privilege  to  an  un- 

*  An  interesting  sidelight  on  the  passage  of  this  law  is  contained  in  a 
letter  from  Ramsay  Crooks  to  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  dated  November 
l6,  1832 :  "  I  regret  truly  the  blindness  of  the  government  in  refusing 
liquor  for  the  trade  of  the  country  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Posts,  because  the  prohibition  will  not  prevent  the  Indians  getting  it 
from  our  rivals,  to  our  most  serious  injury.  It  might  have  been  pos- 
sible last  winter  at  Washington  to  accomplish  some  modification  had  we 
been  there  together.  I  have,  however,  very  strong  doubts  on  the  sub- 
ject, because  Gov.  Cass  is  a  temperance  society  man  in  every  sense  of 
the  word,  and  it  was  with  his  full  consent  and  approbation  that  the 
law  for  its  exclusion  from  the  Indian  country  was  passed  by  the  last 
Congress,  and  though  I  did  not  go  to  the  Great  City,  the  Chairmen  of 
the  Indian  Committees  were  made  as  fully  acquainted  with  the  sub- 
ject in  all  its  bearings  as  if  I  bad  detailed  all  the  facts  to  them  in  per- 
son. Had  Ashley  opposed  the  bill,  his  pi^sumed  knowledge  of  Indian 
trade  would  probably  have  been  more  than  a  match  for  the  influence  of 
the  Secretary  of  War.  But  it  was  got  up  as  one  of  the  government 
measures  of  the  session,  and  your  representative,  as  a  good  Jackson 
man,  gave  it  his  unqualified  support,  and  secured  its  passage." 


28  THE    LAW    IMPERATIVE. 

limited  extent ;  and  the  absolute  certainty  of  the  country  be- 
ing deluged  by  a  larger  supply  than  usual,  purposely  to  show 
their  superiority  over  us,  degrading  us,  and  with  us  the 
government,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Indians,  by  our  withholding 
from  them  a  gratification  which  was  abundantly  and  cheer- 
fully furnished  by  the  British.  |  I  also  placed  before  the 
secretary  the  dangers  of  our  situation  flowing  from  this 
source,  when  stimulated  by  disappointment,  and  excited  by 
our  rivals  to  institute  comparisons  between  themselves  and 
us,  which  inevitably  must  lead  to  conclusions  altogether 
unfavorable  to  the  Americans.  I  pressed  upon  his  attention 
the  efforts  we  had  made  at  the  risk  of  the  lives  of  our 
people,  and  much  pecuniary  cost,  to  open  an  intercourse  with 
our  mortal  enemies,  the  Blackfeet,  who  had  on  every  occa- 
sion waged  an  exterminating  war  upon  our  citizens  for 
upward  of  twenty  years  —  the  great  value  of  the  trade  we 
had  already  gained,  and  the  prospect  of  a  large  increase  we 
might  calculate  upon,  when,  by  our  peaceful  relations  with 
the  savages  of  the  Falls  of  the  Missouri  and  Maria's  river, 
we  could  extend  our  intercourse  to  the  Flatheads,  and  other 
tribes  —  and  lastly,  the  loss  of  influence  which  the  govern- 
ment must  sustain  in  the  belief  that  they  would  entertain  of 
its  poverty,  when  contrasted  with  the  affluence  and  liberality 
of  the  British,  who  supplied  every  want,  while  we  denied 
them  the  greatest  of  all  gratifications.  I  showed  him  the 
entire  prostration  of  all  the  philanthropic  hopes  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  enacting  the  late  law,  and  tried  to  convince  him 
that  it  would  do  infinitely  more  harm  than  good  until  the 
article  was  excluded  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories,  as 
completely  as  on  our  side  of  the  boundary. 

"  To  all  this  the  secretary  replied,  that  the  law  was  Imper- 
ative, and  the  executive  had  no  discretion  but  to  see  it 
executed  to  the  letter.  But  as  we  only  desired  to  use  liquor 
in  our  own  defense,  it  would  give  him  pleasure  to  bring  the 
subject  to  the  notice  of  the  President  and  the  Secretary  of 
State  (in  accordance  with  a  wish  I  expressed  when  I  found 
that  nothing  else  could  be  obtained)   who,  he  was  sure, 


N 


TROUBLES    OF    THE    AMERICAN    FUR    COMPANY.  29 

would  at  once  enter  into  a  correspondence  with  the  British, 
and  do  all  in  their  power  to  induce  tliat  government  to 
exclude  from  the  trade  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
every  species  of  spirituous  liquors,  as  effectually,  as  by  law  we 
have  done  on  our  side." 

The  government  adhered  strictly  to  its  policy  of  excluding 
liquor  from  the  Indian  country,  and  as  a  consequence  the 
fur  trade  was  characterized  during  all  these  years  by  the 
crime  of  smuggling  with  every  incident  of  fraud  and  trick- 
ery known  to  that  business.  It  is  doubtful  if  the  actual 
quantity  of  liquor  imported  was  sensibly  diminished  by  the 
prohibition  while  its  effects  were  aggravated  by  the  clan- 
destine methods  which  the  traders  were  forced  to  employ. 
The  American  Fur  Company  was  pushed  to  the  severest 
straits  of  all,  for  its  great  prominence  made  it  more  open  to 
detection.  At  one  time  it  undertook  to  evade  the  law  by 
manufacturing  liquor  in  the  Indian  country.  This  episode, 
which  created  a  great  sensation  at  the  time,  will  be  con- 
sidered in  another  place;  and  instances  will  be  cited  to 
show  how  shrewd  the  company's  traders  became  in  getting 
their  wares  past  the  government  inspectors  stationed  along 
the  river.  There  were  two  occasions  in  particular  when  the 
pressure  upon  the  American  Fur  Company  was  very  great, 
and  when  the  use  of  liquor  was  deemed  by  its  agents  abso- 
lutely essential  to  its  continuance  in  the  country.  The  first 
of  these  was  in  1833  ^-^^  i834»  j^'ist  after  the  prohibitory  law 
was  passed,  and  when  the  company  was  threatened  with  the 
powerful  opposition  of  Sublette  and  Campbell.  The  other 
was  ten  years  later,  when  it  was  again  threatened  by  a 
formidable  opposition  —  the  firm  of  Fox,  Livingston  and 
Company  of  New  York.  During  all  the  intermediate  period, 
however,  there  were  constant  demands  by  the  agents  of  the 
company  in  the  field  for  more  liquor,^  and  regular  replies 

*The  imperious  character  of  these  demands  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
following  letter  from  Honore  Picotte  at  Fort  Pierre  to  Pierre  Chou- 
teau, Jr.,  dated  January  4.  1843 : 

"  In  one  thing  they  [Fox,  Livingston  and  Company]  have  the  advan- 


30  PRESSING    APPEALS    FOR    LIQUOR. 

from  St.  Louis,  warning  the  agents  of  the  perils  involved  in 
sending  any. 

The  house  in  St.  Louis  nevertheless  made  every  effort  to 
meet  the  pressing  demands  of  its  agents,  and  generally 
succeeded,  not  infrequently,  it  is  suspected,  by  the  conniv- 
ance of  the  authorities  —  at  least  the  following  instructions 
from  Mr.  Chouteau  to  Mr.  Picotte  would  imply  as  much : 

"  The  quantity  of  A sent,"  he  wrote  March  31,   1840, 

"  is  somewhat  short  of  what  was  asked  for,  but  we  think 
sufficient.  In  regard  to  this  article,  it  has  been  highly  nec- 
essary that  every  possible  care  be  taken,  both  to  prevent  its 
abuse  and  to  lessen  the  quantity  distributed.  Information 
respecting  this  matter  has  already  reached  the  Department 
of  the  Attorney  General,  and  if  our  Mr.  San  ford  had  not 
been  at  Washington  this  winter  most  opportunely,  we  should 
unquestionably  have  been  prevented  from  sending  any  at 
all  this  season.     You  will  therefore  perceive  the  necessity  of 

tage  and  that  is  liquor.  We  know  to  a  certainty  that  they  have  five 
barrels  of  alcohol  at  Cedar  Island,  seventeen  at  Fort  Union  [Fort  Mor- 
timer near  Fort  Union],  seven  of  which  were  taken  up  by  the  steam- 
boat New  Haven  last  fall  from  Fort  George,  and  three  at  Fort  Clark. 
Mr.  Laidlaw  writes  me  that  he  has  no  doubt  they  will  open  their  liquor 
as  soon  as  the  trade  commences,  and  he  says  that  he  has  not  where- 
with to  oppose  them  in  that  article.  If,  during  the  winter,  they  sell  but 
part  of  their  liquor,  they  will  ne.xt  year  send  the  remainder  to  Fort  Mc- 
Kenzie.  By  that  time  we  will  not  have  a  single  drop  in  the  country. 
With  their  liquor  on  one  side  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  on  the 
other  we  are  sure  to  lose  the  trade  of  that  part  next  season.  Pratte 
and  Cabanne  have  twelve  kegs  en  cache  at  the  head  of  the  Cheyenne 
which  they  will  trade  in  the  spring  if  they  are  not  closely  watched,  and 
every  day  some  one  comes  over  from  the  St.  Peter's  [river  in  Minnesota] 
with  that  article,  not  in  great  quantity,  it  is  true,  but  enough  to  injure 
the  trade.  Under  these  circumstances  you  see  plainly  that  we  must 
lose  the  Blackfeet  and  Assiniboine  trade  next  year  unless  we  have 
liquor.  I  therefore  request  you  to  use  all  your  influence  to  send  us 
some  of  that  article  next  year,  say  four  or  five  hundred  gallons  in  can- 
teens, kegs,  even  in  bottles,  if  in  no  other  way.  It  will  require  that 
quantity  to  compete  with  Cutting  [agent  of  Fox,  Livingston  and  Com- 
pany]. Perhaps  Mr.  Chouteau  can  get  a  permit.  I  will  bind  my- 
self [ !]  not  to  make  use  of  it  among  the  Sioux,  Rees,  Gros  Ventres 
[Minnetarccs],  or  Mandans.     At  all  events  zvc  must  have  it." 


PROHIBITION    DOES    NOT    PROHIBIT.  3I 

some  amendment  in  this  matter,  and  we  trust  that  you  will 
not  fail  to  use  every  vigilance  to  effect  it." 

The  extracts  which  have  been  given  here  from  the  unpub- 
lished records  of  the  times  exhibit  in  a  clear  light  the 
deplorable  effects  of  the  liquor  traffic  in  those  early  years, 
not  only  upon  the  business  of  the  fur  trade,  but  upon  the 
native  tribes  as  well.  They  show  that,  while  the  gov- 
ernment steadfastly  maintained  on  its  statute  books  a  regu- 
lation designed  to  protect  the  Indian,  it  was  never  able  to 
carry  it  into  effect.  They  afford  another  proof,  if  one  were 
necessary,  of  the  truth  that  the  mere  embodiment  of  a  moral 
purpose  in  legislation,  regardless  of  its  bearing  upon  the 
practical  affairs  of  life,  is  no  guarantee  of  its  successful 
accomplishment.  Finally  they  furnish  an  early  illustration 
of  the  modern  aphorism  that  "  Prohibition  does  not 
prohibit." 


CHAPTER  V. 

CHARACTERISTIC  FEATURES  OF  THE  FUR  TRADE. 

Means  of  transportation  —  The  keelboat  —  The  steamboat  —  The 
canoe  —  The  mackinaw  boat  —  The  bull-boat  —  Steamboat  voyages  — 
The  caravan  —  The  rendezvous  —  The  express  —  The  cache  —  "  Fall  " 
and  "  spring  "  hunts. 

CKT.  LOUIS,  the  principal  mart  and  outfitting  point  for 
*"^  the  fur  trade,  was  from  one  to  two  thousand  miles 
distant  from  the  best  hunting  grounds.  The  matter  of 
transportation  to  and  from  regions  so  remote  was,  it  will 
readily  be  understood,  one  of  very  great  importance.  All 
that  portion  of  the  traffic,  by  far  the  larger  part  of  the  whole, 
which  was  confined  to  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Missouri, 
was  carried  in  river  craft,  mostly  in  steamboats  or  keel- 
boats.  In  downstream  navigation  use  was  made  of  macki- 
naws,  bull-boats  or  canoes,  which  were  borne  along  by  the 
current  with  but  slight  assistance  from  the  oars.  The 
interior  expeditions  to  the  valleys  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake 
and  Green  river  were  at  first  conducted  by  pack  trains,  but 
later  largely  with  wagons.  The  later  Santa  Fe  trade  was 
carried  on  principally  with  wagons. 

THE   KEELBOAT. 

The  early  commerce  of  the  Missouri  was  always  romantic 
and  interesting  and  not  infrequently  full  of  peril. ^  The 
keelboat,  the  historic  predecessor  of  the  steamboat,  was 
extensively  used  down  to  1830,  and  did  not  disappear  from 
the  river  for  several  years  thereafter.     It  was  a  boat  of  no 

*  For  a  description  of  the  Missouri  river  and  its  tributaries,  and  a 
consideration  of  the  origin  and  application  of  the  name  "  Missouri, " 
see  Part  V.,  Chapter  III. 


THE    KEELBOAT.  33 

mean  dimensions,  averaging  from  sixty  to  seventy-five  feet 
long,  fifteen  to  eighteen  feet  beam,  and  three  to  four  feet 
depth  of  hold.  It  was  built  on  a  regular  model,  with  a  keel 
running  from  bow  to  stern,  whence  its  name.  Rising  from 
the  deck  some  four  or  five  feet  was  the  cargo  box,  cut  off 
at  each  end  about  twelve  feet  shorter  than  the  boat.  This 
part  of  the  boat,  as  the  name  implies,  was  generally  used 
for  freight,  but  was  occasionally  fitted  up  with  staterooms 
when  used  for  passengers  only.  The  boat  was  built  on 
thorough  principles  of  ship  craft,  and  was  a  strong,  sub- 
stantial vessel. 

The  means  of  propulsion  were  various,  and  were  intended 
to  utilize  all  the  forces  which  man  and  nature  rendered 
available.  The  cordelle  was  the  main  reliance  —  a  long  line 
attached  to  the  top  of  a  high  mast,  which  stood  a  little  for- 
ward of  the  center  of  the  boat.  It  passed  through  a  ring, 
which  was  fastened  by  a  short  line  to  the  bow  to  help  guide 
the  boat,  and  was  drawn  by  from  twenty  to  forty  men  strung 
along  the  shore.  The  reason  for  attaching  it  to  the  mast 
was  that  it  might  swing  clear  of  the  brush  on  the  bank. 

It  often  happened  at  river  crossings  and  elsewhere  that 
the  cordelle  could  not  be  used,  and  in  such  cases  poles  had 
to  be  resorted  to.  These  were  of  various  lengths  suited  to 
convenient  handling,  and  were  equipped  with  balls  or  knobs 
at  the  upper  ends  to  rest  in  the  hollow  of  the  shoulder.  To 
propel  the  boat  by  means  of  these  poles  the  voyageurs  were 
ranged  in  single  file  on  each  side  of  the  deck  near  the  bow, 
facing  aft.  Planting  their  poles  on  the  river  bottom,  point- 
ing down  stream,  they  pushed  steadily  against  them,  at 
the  same  time  walking  towards  the  stern  along  the  passe 
avant,  a  narrow  walk  some  fifteen  inches  wide  on  each  side 
of  the  cargo  box,  while  the  boat,  yielding  to  their  pressure, 
moved  ahead. 

It  now  and  then  happened  that  deep  water  was  found  in 
places  where  neither  pole  nor  cordelle  could  be  used.  Oars 
were  then  resorted  to,  of  which  there  were  five  or  six  on 
each  side  of  the  bow. 


34  THE    CANOE    AND    MACKINAW. 

A  very  important  rJd,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  considering 
the  character  of  a  stream  like  the  Missouri,  was  the  sail.  It 
was  at  times  of  great  assistance,  and  even  sufficient  of  itself 
to  propel  the  boat  against  the  current. 

Thus  by  one  means  or  another,  and  now  and  then  by  all 
together,  the  early  keelboat  worked  and  worried  its  way  up 
the  turbulent  current  of  the  Missouri.  The  best  known 
record  for  a  long  journey,  say  a  thousand  miles,  was 
eighteen  miles  per  day,  while  the  average  was  scarcely  more 
than  twelve  or  fifteen.  There  are  several  records  where 
keelboats  were  extensively  used  for  transporting  troops,  and 
one  in  which  propeller  wheels  were  provided  to  be  manipu- 
lated through  hand  power  by  the  soldiers.  Whatever  the 
method  of  propulsion,  however,  the  task  was  always 
extremely  laborious,  and  the  large  force  and  attendant 
expense  required  were  one  of  the  great  arguments  for  trying 
the  experiment,  then  considered  a  very  doubtful  one  on  the 
Missouri,  of  introducing  the  steamboat. 

THE  CANOE. 

The  wooden  canoe,  dug  out  from  the  trunk  of  the  cotton- 
wood,  and  hence  often  called  a  "  dugout,"  was  a  very  useful 
craft.  Many  a  journey  w^as  made  in  these  crude  boats,  from 
the  heart  of  the  wilderness  two  thousand  miles  away  to  St. 
Louis.  They  were  extensively  used  for  local  traffic  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  posts. 

THE  MACKINAW. 

The  mackinaw  was  a  flat-bottomed  boat  pointed  at  both 
ends,  sometimes  forty  to  fifty  feet  long  with  twelve  feet 
beam,  and  three  to  four  feet  depth  of  hold.  The  oarsmen, 
four  in  number,  were  bestowed  in  the  bow,  and  the  steers- 
man on  a  high  perch  in  the  stern,  while  the  cargo  was  piled 
up  in  the  space  between  them.  The  current  was  the  main 
reliance  for  propulsion.  The  cargo  was  about  fifteen  tons, 
the  rate  of  progress  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  miles  per 
day,  and  the  cost  about  two  dollars  per  day,  or  about  one 


THE    BULL-BOAT    AND    STEAMBOAT.  35 

and  a  half  mills  per  mile-ton.  The  boats  were  cheaply  made, 
and  were  intended  only  for  downstream  navigation,  being 
abandoned  at  St.  Louis.  They  were  the  cheapest  of  all 
methods  for  carrying  freight  down  the  river. 

THE    BULL-BOAT. 

The  bull-boat  was  made  of  buffalo  skins  sewn  together  and 
stretched  over  a  frame  of  willow  and  cottonwood  poles. 
The  size  was  commonly  about  twelve  by  thirty  feet  and 
twenty  inches  deep.  It  had  the  least  draught  of  any  river 
craft,  and  was  therefore  best  adapted  to  such  shallow 
streams  as  the  Platte.  The  cargo  generally  consisted  of 
robes,  and  amounted  to  two  and  a  half  tons  weight,  which 
caused  a  draught  of  only  about  four  inches.  These  boats, 
in  one  form  or  another,  saw  extensive  service  on  Western 
rivers. 

THE  STEAMBOAT. 

It  has  seldom  happened  in  history  that  the  introduction  of 
labor-saving  devices  has  not  robbed  society  to  some  extent 
of  what  was  poetic  and  sentimental,  and  replaced  it  by 
something  more  prosaic  and  matter  of  fact.  The  Missouri 
river  steamboat  was  an  exception,  for  wdth  all  the  romance 
that  attached  to  the  old  keelboat,  its  own  history  was  more 
romantic  still.  The  sight  of  one  of  these  noble  vessels, 
standing  high  above  the  water  line  and  well  above  the  high- 
est banks,  its  white  form  sharply  outlined  against  the  foliage 
of  the  bottoms,  its  lofty  chimneys  pouring  out  clouds  of 
smoke,  its  apparent  ease  in  stemming  the  swift  current,  and 
finally,  its  strange  and  supernatural  appearance  to  the  rude 
inhabitants  of  the  prairies,  gave  it  a  character  distinctly 
its  own.  It  was  found  to  accomplish  a  great  saving  over 
the  cost  of  the  keelboat,  and  it  consequently  came  rapidly 
into  use,  at  first  in  the  fur  trade,  and  later  in  every  kind  of 
business,  public  or  private,  that  was  transacted  along  the 
river.  No  feature  of  frontier  life  is  more  intimately 
blended  with  the  history  of  the  Western  country  than  the 
Missouri  river  steamboat. 


36  ANNUAL    VOYAGES, 

It  was  an  attractive  looking  craft.  Unlike  the  ocean 
vessel,  which  is  in  large  part  below  the  water  line,  the  river 
boat  drew  only  three  or  four  feet,  and  was  therefore  almost 
entirely  above  the  surface,  giving  it  an  apparent  size  rela- 
tively much  greater  than  that  of  the  ocean  vessel.  The  boats 
were  flat  bottomed,  and  were  formerly  propelled  with  side 
wheels,  but  later  with  one  wheel  in  the  stern.  The  freight 
storage  was  in  the  hold,  but  everything  else  —  boilers, 
engine,  cabins  and  all  —  was  above  the  main  deck.  Suitable 
appliances  were  placed  on  the  forecastle  for  handling 
freight,  while  powerful  capstans,  lines  and  spars  were  pro- 
vided to  help  over  the  shallow  places. 

The  handling  of  these  boats  was  a  science  in  itself,  and 
the  Missouri  river  pilot  had  a  more  difficult  role  to  fill  than 
ever  fell  to  a  navigator  on  the  high  seas.  Not  even  the  perils 
of  Mississippi  river  navigation,  now  permanently  fixed  in 
literature  through  the  genius  of  Mark  Twain,  were  to  be 
compared  with  those  of  its  great  western  tributary. 

The  annual  voyages  of  the  steamboats  were  great  events, 
both  at  St.  Louis  and  the  various  posts.  The  boat  carried 
the  necessary  outfit  for  a  year's  trade,  and  generally  also  a 
hundred  or  more  people  for  service  in  the  Indian  country. 
Besides  the  regular  crew  of  the  boats,  there  were  engages 
to  recruit  the  force  in  the  field  or  to  replace  those  whose 
terms  were  about  to  expire.  There  were  generally  a  partner 
and  one  or  more  clerks  returning  from  a  visit  to  St,  Louis. 
More  than  likely  there  were  several  missionaries  aboard, 
while  the  cabin  lists  frequently  included  gentlemen  o£ 
science  or  leisure,  who  made  the  trip  in  the  interests  of  their 
researches,  or  on  account  of  their  love  of  adventure. 
Finally  there  were  never  lacking  the  copper  countenances  of 
the  native  inhabitants,  who  were  always  sending  deputations 
to  St.  Louis  for  one  purpose  or  another.  The  crew  and 
passengers  made  up  a  motley  assemblage,  the  like  of  which, 
for  picturesque  variety,  was  probably  never  beheld  except  in 
a  Missouri  river  steamboat. 


LEAVING    PORT.  37 

Without  following  the  long  monotonous  career  of  the 
boat,  through  the  innumerable  difficulties  of  its  long  journey, 
it  will  here  suffice  to  note  the  beginning  and  end  of  the 
voyage.  The  departure  of  the  boat  from  St.  Louis  was 
naturally  an  event  of  much  importance.  Those  who  were 
going  to  service  in  the  wilderness  would  be  absent  several 
years,  while  even  those  who  were  to  return  had  perils 
enough  before  them  to  make  their  absence  a  matter  of 
anxiety  to  friends.  With  most  of  the  common  passengers, 
and  particularly  with  the  engages,  the  parting  was  anything 
but  a  scene  of  sorrow.  The  previous  days  and  nights  were 
given  over  to  general  carousal  and  dissipation,  with  the 
result  that  when  the  hour  of  sailing  arrived,  a  goodly  num- 
ber were  unable  to  walk  aboard  the  boat,  and  were  either 
carried  on  or  left  altogether.  It  occasionally  happened  that 
those  so  left  would  recover  in  time  to  hie  across  the  country 
to  St.  Charles  before  the  steamboat  passed  that  point. 

As  the  boat  pulled  out  into  the  stream,  those  on  board 
opened  a  running  salute  of  musketry,  accompanied  by  such 
other  accessories  as  were  at  hand,  and  the  uproar  continued 
until  the  boat  was  practically  out  of  hearing.  The  exuber- 
ant spirits  of  the  crew  then  settled  down  to  the  serious  task 
of  reducing  things  to  order.  This  was  a  most  important 
proceeding,  for  ordinarily  on  leaving  port  the  deck  of  the 
boat  presented  a  scene  of  inextricable  confusion,  with 
packages  of  all  descriptions  strewn  about  and  passengers 
not  yet  assigned  to  their  quarters.  The  engages  were  first 
given  their  allowance  of  blankets  and  other  equipments,  and 
then  work  was  begun  at  storing  away  the  cargo.  Order 
began  gradually  to  rise  from  the  general  chaos,  and  before 
nightfall  the  vessel  had  taken  on  the  appearance  which  it 
would  continue  to  wear  during  the  rest  of  the  trip. 

Thus  the  long  voyage  through  the  prairies  was  begun. 
Week  after  week  passed  as  the  boat  toiled  up  the  river,  stop- 
ping at  the  various  posts,  until  finally  the  scene  shifted  to  the 
most  remote  establishment  which  it  was  expected  to  visit. 
The  dreary  routine  of  the  trader's  life  suddenly  changed  to 


■J 'J 


3cS  THE    CARAVAN. 

unwonted  activity.  The  long-looked-for  annual  boat  was 
in  sight  —  the  great  event  of  the  year  —  with  news  from 
the  outside  world,  and  all  the  business  matters  that  made  up 
the  purpose  of  the  journey.  The  fort  manned  its  guns  — 
for  it  had  several  small  cannon  mounted  in  the  bastions 
—  and  a  hearty  salute  of  welcome  was  fired.  The  boat 
vigorously  responded.  Everybody  about  the  fort  crowded 
to  the  scene  —  the  bourgeois  for  whom  a  respectful  space 
was  made  in  the  crowd,  and  the  clerks,  artisans,  storekeep- 
ers, groups  of  free  trappers,  and  bands  of  Indians,  forming 
in  all  as  wild  and  motley  a  crowd  as  boat  ever  met  in  port. 

Immediately  upon  landing,  and  even  before  the  inter- 
change of  salutations  was  complete,  the  unloading  of  the 
cargo  was  begun.  No  time  was  to  be  lost  in  navigating  the 
Missouri.  Should  the  spring  rise  go  down  before  the  return 
of  the  boat,  she  would  have  to  stay  up  all  the  year,  as  hap- 
pened with  the  steamer  Assiniboine  in  1834-35.  Night  and 
day  the  roustabouts  of  the  boat  and  the  engages  of  the  fort 
were  busy  carrying  off  the  goods  and  carrying  on  the  furs. 
A  banquet  on  the  boat  and  another  with  the  bourgeois  com- 
pleted the  festivities,  and  almost  before  the  denizens  of  the 
fort  had  taken  their  eyes  from  the  strange  visitor,  she  had 
hauled  in  her  lines  and  was  speeding  back  to  St.  Louis.  The 
crowd  of  passengers  was  not  so  large  as  on  the  ascending 
voyage,  although  there  was  still  a  goodly  list,  comprised 
mostly  of  those  whose  terms  of  service  had  expired,  of 
partners  in  the  business,  whom  the  affairs  of  the  concern 
called  to  St.  Louis,  and  of  the  travelers  who  went  up  for  the 
trip. 

THE    CARAVAN. 

The  caravans  ^  which  followed  the  land  route  to  the 
mountains  or  to  Santa  Fe  were,  of  course,  a  very  different 
sort  of  organization  from  the  steamboat  and  its  crew  —  as 

^  This  term  was  not  often  used  with  reference  to  the  Rocky  Mountain 
expeditions,  although  entirely  applicable  to  them.  Its  more  common 
occurrence  was  in  the  Santa  Fe  trade.  The  British  companies  called 
their  supply  parties  from  the  east  brigades,  a  term  which  was  occasion- 
ally used  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  American  trade,  but  which  quickly 
fell   into  disuse. 


THE    RENDEZVOUS.  39 

different  as  was  the  rendezvous  at  their  destination  from  the 
trading  post  on  the  river.  They  generally  made  their 
starting  point  at  Independence,  Mo.  In  the  earlier  years 
pack  trains  were  exclusively  used;  later  wagons  were 
resorted  to  for  a  part  of  the  distance.  Mules  were  used  as 
pack  animals,  and  experts  in  the  art  of  packing  disposed  the 
unwieldy  cargoes  with  marvelous  skill  upon  the  unwilling 
beasts.  The  caravans  moved  fifteen  to  twenty-five  miles 
per  day,  and  camped  at  the  end  of  each  day's  journey 
wherever  good  grass,  wood,  and  water  were  to  be  found. 
Great  caution  was  always  taken  to  guard  against  Indian 
attacks. 

THE    RENDEZVOUS. 

After  about  a  month's  wanderings,  the  caravan  arrived 
at  the  annual  rendezvous  in  some  valley,  where  it  had  been 
arranged  the  previous  year  that  the  mountain  parties  should 
meet  at  a  particular  date.  Hither  from  all  directions  came 
the  roving  population  of  the  surrounding  country.  First 
there  were  the  bands  of  trappers  who  were  in  the  regular 
employ  of  the  companies,  and  who  had  passed  a  long  and 
lonesome  winter  among  the  mountains.  Then  there  were 
the  freemen,  who  gathered  with  the  rest  to  dispose  of  the 
fruits  of  their  labors.  To  the  same  spot  came  numerous 
bands  of  Indians  also  with  furs  or  horses  to  sell. 

As  soon  as  everyone  expected  had  arrived,  the  business 
began.  The  parties  belonging  to  the  company  turned  over 
their  furs,  and  received  their  wages  and  a  new  equipment. 
The  free  trappers  and  the  Indians  trafficked  their  furs  on 
the  best  attainable  terms,  and  purchased  their  equipments 
for  the  ensuing  year.  While  all  this  business  was  going  on, 
and  while  the  cargoes  were  being  made  ready  for  the  home- 
ward journey,  the  heterogeneous  assemblage  went  in  for  a 
good  time.  The  flat  alcohol  kegs  were  broached,  liquor 
flowed  like  water,  and  the  wildest  tumult  at  length  ensued, 
ending  not  infrequently  with  fatal  results.  The  debauch 
extended  likewise  to  the  Indians,  many  of  whom  were 
presently  reduced  to   a  state  of  the  most   abhorrent  and 


40  FUR    PACKS. 

revolting  intoxication.  Gambling  was  actively  rushed  dur- 
ing the  whole  time,  and  few  were  the  trappers  who  did  not 
pay  a  heavy  tribute  upon  the  altar  of  chance.  In  fact,  with 
gaming,  treating,  and  feasting,  most  of  the  hard  earnings 
of  a  year's  toil  found  their  way  directly  back  into  the 
pockets  of  the  company  at  the  enormous  profit  which  their 
prices  secured.  The  caravan  then  returned  to  the  States, 
and  the  sore-headed  trappers,  after  recovering  from  their 
dissipation,  betook  themselves  with  heavy  hearts  but  light 
pockets  to  their  lonely  retreats  in  the  mountains,  there  to 
pass  another  three  hundred  and  sixty  days  in  peril  and  toil, 
that  they  might  spend  five  in  drunken  frolic. 

The  mountain  rendezvous  was  a  remarkable  gathering, 
entirely  unique  in  American  history.  Few  finer  subjects 
for  a  great  painting  could  be  found  than  one  of  these  assem- 
blages as  they  used  to  take  place  in  the  upper  valley  of  the 
Green  river  under  the  Wind  river  mountains,  or  in  Pierre's 
Hole  under  the  Three  Tetons.  The  rendezvous,  as  it  was  in 
its  best  days,  was  a  very  transient  institution,  continuing  at 
most  for  only  about  a  decade.  But  its  brief  career  was  full 
of  thrilling  incidents. 

PACKS. 

In  transporting  the  furs  to  market,  they  were  disposed  in 
packs  weighing  about  one  hundred  pounds.^  They  were 
very  securely  packed  and  so  wrapped  as  to  protect  them 
from  the  weather.  It  was  a  costly  and  perilous  undertaking 
to  move  the  heavy  cargoes  that  were  obtained  at  these  ren- 
dezvous on  their  long  journey  to  St.  Louis,  and  it  is  said 
that  General  Ashley  once  offered  a  dollar  a  pound  to  any 
one  who  would  insure  him  against  loss  during  the  transpor- 
tation. 

A  common  unit  of  price  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  trade 
was  a  first-class  beaver  skin,  worth  in  the  neighborhood  of 
six  dollars.  It  was  called  a  plus,  and  was  much  used  at 
that  time. 

^  A  pack  of  furs  contained  ten  buffalo  robes,  fourteen  bear,  sixty 
otter,  eighty  beaver,  eighty  raccoon,  one  hundred  and  twenty  foxes,  or 
six  hundred  muskrat  skins. 


THE    EXPRESS   AND    CACHE.  4I 


THE   EXPRESS. 


Along  the  Missouri  valley  communication  by  express 
was  had  at  intervals  throughout  the  year  with  St.  Louis. 
Such  was  the  case  occasionally  from  the  mountains.  The 
express  down  the  valley  was  generally  by  canoe,  except  in 
winter,  when  dog  trains  were  used  above  Council  Bluffs, 
and  saddle  horses  below.  The  upbound  express  was  always 
overland  above  Council  Bluffs.  The  express  was  an  import- 
ant matter.  It  gave  the  officials  at  St.  Louis  news  from  their 
remote  establishments,  brought  down  the  requisitions  from 
the  various  posts  for  the  next  year's  supplies,  and  reported 
the  state  of  the  winter,  the  approximate  depth  of  snow  in 
the  mountains,  and  the  probable  time  of  its  melting,  whereby 
the  company  was  able  to  plan  its  annual  voyage  with  at  least 
a  shadow  of  relation  to  the  condition  of  high  water  in  the 
river.  The  express  from  St.  Louis  likewise  contained  the 
important  correspondence  relative  to  the  business. 

THE    CACHE. 

Of  the  many  terms  peculiar  to  the  fur  trade  no  one  was  of 
more  common  use  than  the  word  cache.  It  frequently 
happened  that  parties  had  to  abandon  temporarily  the  prop- 
erty they  were  carrying,  with  the  intention  of  returning  for 
it  at  a  more  convenient  time.  The  property  so  abandoned 
was  cached  or  concealed  so  as  to  prevent  its  loss  or  injury. 
The  use  of  the  word  in  this  specific  meaning  is  very  old  and 
of  course  came  through  the  French  to  whose  language  it 
belongs.  The  cache,  as  ordinarily  prepared,  consisted  of 
a  deep  pit  in  the  ground  in  the  construction  of  which  the 
point  of  paramount  importance  was  to  avoid  any  trace  of 
the  work  which  might  attract  attention  after  it  was  com- 
pleted. The  size  of  the  pit  depended  upon  the  quantity  it 
was  to  hold,  and  sometimes  it  was  very  spacious  and  con- 
tained wagons  and  other  bulky  material.  The  best  site  was 
in  a  dry  soil,  easily  excavated  and  in  a  situation  that  afford- 
ed good  facilities  for  concealment.  The  pit  was  lined  with 
sticks  and  dry  leaves  after  which  the  goods  were  carefully 


^2  SPRING    AND    FALL    HUNTS. 

disposed  therein,  and  all  perishable  articles,  such  as  provi- 
sions or  fur,  were  protected  with  the  utmost  care.  This  was 
a  vital  matter  for  it  frequently  happened  that  valuable 
articles  were  found  spoiled. 

The  greatest  difficulty  in  the  preparation  of  a  cache  was 
its  concealment  after  completion.  From  the  sharp  eyes  of 
the  sons  of  the  prairies  no  trace  however  minute  would 
escape.  They  might  be  peering  over  some  neighboring 
precipice  as  were  the  Crows  when  the  returning  Astorians 
were  making  a  cache  on  the  shores  of  Snake  river  in  1812. 
The  concealment  consisted  simply  in  removing  all  evidence 
of  the  cache  —  never  by  any  sort  of  covering.  The  point 
was  to  leave  the  ground  looking  just  as  it  did  before.  If 
in  turf,  the  sod  was  scrupulously  replaced.  In  other  places 
it  was  usual  to  build  a  camp  fire  over  the  cache  and  thus 
not  only  obliterate  all  evidence  of  the  work  but  divert  atten- 
tion as  well. 

With  all  this  care  caches  were  often  discovered  and 
"  raised  "  or  "  lifted  "  by  those  who  had  no  right  to  them. 
Wolves  often  dug  them  out  and  their  work  would  discover 
them  to  the  Indians.  The  trappers  themselves,  as  a  general 
thing,  respected  the  caches  of  rival  parties. 

Caches  were  occasionally  made  in  the  sides  of  vertical 
cliffs.  Such  a  bank  in  the  Wind  River  valley  once  caved  in 
while  work  was  going  on  and  killed  two  men.  They  were 
also  made  in  the  trunks  of  trees,  in  clefts  of  rocks  and 
other  places,  but  nearly  always  in  the  ground. 

These  caches  sometimes  attained  notoriety  and  have  left 
their  names  in  various  localities.  Cache  valley,  Utah,  is 
an  example,  as  were  the  "  caches  "  on  the  Arkansas  river. 
There  are  also  numerous  "Cache  creeks"  scattered  through- 
out the  West. 

THE  SPRING  AND  FALL  HUNTS. 

Few  terms  are  more  familiar  in  the  nomenclature  of  the 
fur  trade  than  spring  and  fall  hunts.  Most  of  the 
beaver  fur  was  taken  in  these  two  seasons.     In  the  summer 


SPRING    FURS    BEST,  43 

the  fur  was  not  in  g-ood  condition,  and  the  trapper  improved 
this  period  of  enforced  inactivity  to  visit  the  annual  rendez- 
vous or  some  trading  post,  to  settle  his  accounts  for  the 
year,  to  secure  a  new  equipment,  and  to  return  to  the  theater 
of  his  approaching-  fall  hunt.  In  the  winter  the  climate 
was  too  severe  for  work,  the  peril  of  travel  was  extreme, 
the  streams  were  frozen  over,  and  the  beaver  was  hibernating 
in  his  lodge.  The  trapper  again  made  a  virtue  of  necessity, 
selected  some  safe  and  sheltered  retreat,  and  whiled  away 
the  long  and  lonely  winters  as  best  he  could. 

The  severity  of  the  winter  seemed  to  add  quality  to  the 
fur,  and  skins  taken  in  the  spring  hunts  were  better  than 
those  taken  in  the  fall, 


CHAPTER  VI. 

TRADING  POSTS. 

Great  number  of  trading  posts  —  Description  of  a  typical  trading 
post  —  Defensive  features  —  Interior  arrangements  —  The  chantier  — 
Smaller  posts  —  Life  at  the  trading  posts  —  Arrival  of  the  annual  con- 
voy—  Journals  of  the  posts  —  Geographical  distribution. 

'TT  O  one  who  has  never  given  the  subject  especial  atten- 
^^  tion,  the  large  number  of  establishments,  dignified 
with  the  name  of  forts,  posts,  or  houses,  that  existed  in 
the  heart  of  the  wilderness  long  before  the  tide  of  western 
emigration  had  set  in,  would  seem  almost  incredible.  In 
1843  there  were  in  existence  in  the  country  tributary  to 
St.  Louis  no  fewer  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  occupied 
or  abandoned  posts.  The  names  of  more  than  one  hundred 
have  been  recovered  while  the  casual  hints  thrown  out  in  the 
narratives  and  correspondence  of  the  times  make  certain  the 
existence  of  a  much  larger  number.  Some  of  these  were 
really  great  establishments  and  lasted  many  years ;  others 
were  very  temporary  affairs,  being  occupied  only  for  a 
season  or  two.  Abandoned  sites  were  frequently  reoccu- 
pied,  often  by  different  companies  who  christened  them 
with  new  names. 

By  far  the  greater  number  of  these  posts  lay  along  the 
Missouri  river,  and  a  glance  at  our  map  will  show  a  crowd- 
ing of  names  which  even  modern  settlement  scarcely  equals. 
Most  of  the  names  have  long  been  buried  in  oblivion,  and 
are  here  resurrected  as  from  the  tomb  of  history.  Many 
are  permanently  lost,  while  others  can  not  be  cleared  of  un- 
certainty as  to  their  true  location  and  ownership.  Many 
of  the  names  are  perpetuated  in  towns  and  villages  which 
have  grown  up  on  or  near  the  old  sites.     Others,  that  should 


</  

:  ,1  tfr'.<rr^r%rnfirfi<rrrifi.(ii(ff(rirrri<Bii  '     ^ 


.  ,^^^^^u.^^^^^^«^A..^.^.nv...^^^^^.^.^^ 


i  H^^WI■^».A^^«OT.l^^m^^^«^...■y 


GROUND    n.AN    OK    A    TYPICAL   TRADING    POST 

(Fort  Pierre) 
From  a  draiving  by  Maximilian 

ff.  Two-story  block-houses.  Upper  story  adapted  for  use  of  small  arms;  lower 
story  for  cannon. 

gg.  Front  and  back  of  quadrangle  114  paces  in  length;  other  sides  108  paces; 
inner  area  87  by  87  paces. 

dd.    One-Story  residence  of  bourgeois  of  post. 

e.    Office  and  residence  of  clerk. 

aaaa.     Residence  of  other  clerks,  interpreter,  engages,  and  their  families. 

cc.     Stores. 

gg:     Entrance  doors  to  fort. 

b.     Garden. 


THE    TYPICAL    TRADING    POST.  45 

have  survived  on  account  of  their  great  importance,  have 
passed  entirely  out  of  use. 

These  estabhshments  w^ere  generally  designated  as 
"  Forts."  Their  primary  purpose  was  trade,  but  in  a  land 
of  savage  and  treacherous  inhabitants  they  served  the  pur- 
pose of  protection  as  w^ell.  Their  construction  was  there- 
fore adapted  to  both  ends.  The  ground  plan  of  the  typical 
trading  post  was  always  a  rectangle,  sometimes  square,  but 
generally  a  little  longer  in  one  direction  than  the  other. 
The  sides  varied  in  length  from  one  to  four  hundred  feet 
depending  upon  the  magnitude  of  the  trade  which  the  post 
must  accommodate.  In  order  to  ensure  the  necessary  pro- 
tection the  fort  was  enclosed  with  strong  walls  of  wood  or 
adobe.  There  were  a  few  posts  built  of  adobe,  but  these 
were  the  exception.  The  typical  fort  was  protected  by 
wooden  palisades  or  pickets  varying  from  twelve  to  eighteen 
feet  high  and  from  four  to  eight  inches  thick.  In  some 
instances  the  pickets  were  squared  and  set  in  juxtaposition ; 
in  others  they  were  halt  round  pieces  formed  by  sawing 
logs  in  halves.  They  were  set  from  two  to  three  feet  in 
the  ground  and  the  earth  was  generally  banked  up  to  a  small 
height  against  them.  In  some  forts  there  were  musketry 
loopholes  along  the  top  of  this  embankment.  For  the  pur- 
poses of  guard  duty  and  also  for  active  defense  a  plank  walk 
was  bracketed  to  the  inside  of  the  pickets  about  four  feet 
below  the  top  so  that  sentinels  could  walk  there  and  observe 
the  ground  outside.  In  case  of  attack  the  defenders  could 
mount  this  walk  and  fire  over  the  palisades  or  through 
the  loopholes  provided  for  the  purpose. 

The  main  reliance  for  defense  consisted  of  two  bastions, 
or  blockhouses,  as  they  were  commonly  called,  placed  at 
diagonally  opposite  corners  of  the  fort.  They  were  square 
in  plan,  fifteen  to  eighteen  feet  on  a  side,  with  two  stories, 
and  were  generally  covered  with  a  roof.  The  lower  floor 
was  a  few  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ground  and  was 
loopholed  for  the  small  cannon  which  all  the  more  impor- 
tant posts  possessed.     Above  the  artillery  floor  was  another 


46  INTERIOR    ARRANGEMENTS. 

for  the  musketry  defense  with  about  three  loopholes  on  each 
exposed  face.  The  blockhouse  stood  entirely  outside  the 
main  enclosure,  its  inner  corner  joining  the  corner  of  the 
fort  so  that  it  flanked  two  sides;  that  is,  the  defenders  in 
each  bastion  could  fire  along  the  outer  face  of  two  sides  of 
the  fort  and  thus  prevent  any  attempt  to  scale  or  demolish 
the  walls. 

A  "  fort "  thus  constructed  was  really  very  strong  and 
was  practically  impregnable  to  an  enemy  without  artillery. 
A  host  of  savages  armed  with  bows  and  arrows  or  with  the 
indifferent  firearms  of  those  days  could  make  no  impression 
upon  it,  and  the  garrison  could  look  with  indifference  upon 
any  attack,  however  formidable,  so  long  as  they  used  rea- 
sonable precaution  and  were  supplied  with  provisions  and 
ammunition.  There  is  no  record  of  a  successful  siege  of  a 
stockaded  fort  in  the  entire  history  of  the  fur  trade  west  of 
the  Mississippi. 

The  necessary  prerequisite  of  defense  having  been  satis- 
fied, the  other  arrangements  of  the  fort  related  to  the  pur- 
poses of  trade.  The  entrance  was  through  a  strong  and 
heavy  door  provided  with  a  wicket  through  which  the  door- 
keeper could  examine  a  person  applying  for  admittance.  In 
the  more  elaborate  posts  there  was  a  double  door,  with  a 
room  and  a  trading  counter  between  them.  The  Indians 
were  admitted  only  to  this  space  for  purposes  of  trade. 
In  the  single-door  posts  trading  was  sometimes  conducted 
through  the  wicket  when  there  was  suspicion  of  danger. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  enclosure  from  the  entrance 
stood  the  house  of  the  bourgeois,  usually  the  most  pre- 
tentious building  in  the  post.  Nearby  stood  the  office  and 
the  house  of  the  clerks.  Along  one  side  of  the  quad- 
rangle stood  the  barracks  of  the  engages  while  across  the 
square  were  the  store  houses  for  the  merchandise,  provisions, 
furs,  and  peltries.  There  were  also  buildings  for  shops, 
of  which  the  blacksmith  shop  was  most  important.  A  fur 
press  was  a  necessary  part  of  the  establishment.  The  build- 
ings usually  stood  with  their  back  walls  on  the  line  of  tlie 


THE    CHANTIER.  47 

enclosure  and  for  the  distance  covered  by  them  they  some- 
times replaced  the  pickets.  In  the  center  of  the  enclosure 
was  a  large  square  or  court  in  which  ordinarily  stood  a  piece 
of  artillery  trained  upon  the  entrance,  and  a  flag  staff  from 
which  the  ensign  of  the  republic  daily  floated  to  the  prairie 
breeze. 

Close  to  the  fort,  and  itself  protected  by  a  strong  enclo- 
sure, with  a  communication  through  the  walls  of  the  fort, 
there  was  often  to  be  found  a  small  field  in  which  common 
vegetables  were  raised  for  the  garrison.  Then  there  was 
always  some  protection  for  the  horses  which  were  the  great 
object  of  the  Indian  forays.  Sometimes  the  corral  was 
outside  and  close  to  the  fort;  but  in  many  cases  the  stock 
was  brought  within  the  walls.  On  the  plains  around  the 
post  there  was  scarcely  ever  absent  the  characteristic  tent 
of  the  Indian,  and  at  certain  seasons  they  were  scattered  by 
hundreds  in  every  direction. 

Near  most  of  the  larger  river  posts  there  was  some 
spot  selected  where  timber  was  abundant  at  which  the 
pickets  and  lumber  for  the  posts  were  manufactured,  the 
mackinaw  boats  and  the  canoes  built,  and  such  other  work 
done  as  the  establishment  required.  These  places  were 
called  chanticrs,  the  French  for  shipyard,  and  the  name 
has  survived  in  one  or  two  places,  as  at  Chantier  creek  in- 
South  Dakota  and  Shonkin  creek,  which  was  first  called 
Chantier  creek,  a  little  below  Fort  Benton  in  Montana.  The 
Fort  Pierre  chantier  was  commonly  called  the  Navy  Yard 
and  was  twenty  miles  or  so  above  the  post. 

The  description  above  given  applies  only  to  the  larger 
posts.  There  were  besides  a  great  number  of  smaller  posts, 
which  were  intended  for  temporary  occupancy  only  and 
were  accordingly  of  a  much  less  pretentious  character.  In 
many  cases  the  resources  of  the  traders  did  not  permit  of 
anything  except  the  most  primitive  structures.  Generally 
these  posts  or  houses  were  simply  log  buildings,  perhaps  two 
or  three  huddled  together,  but  often  only  one.  They  were 
scattered  all  over  the  West  and  the  names  and  localities 
of  most  of  them  have  been  forgfotten. 


48  LIFE    AT    THE    TRADING    POST. 

In  the  upper  Missouri  country  the  smaller  posts  were  not 
independent  establishments  but  were  connected  with  some 
larger  post  from  which  they  received  supplies,  equipment, 
and  men  and  to  which  they  sent  the  produce  of  their  trade. 
Union  and  Pierre  are  the  most  prominent  examples  of 
the  larger  posts,  to  each  of  which  there  were  connected  a 
number  of  smaller  establishments. 

Life  at  these  trading  posts,  buried  as  they  were  in  the 
depths  of  the  wilderness,  a  thousand  miles,  often,  from  civili- 
zation, could  not  but  be  dull,  uninteresting,  and  lonely,  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  year.  Few  indeed  were  the  diversions 
that  came  to  enliven  the  humdrum  life  of  the  garrison,  yet 
occasionally  there  were  excitement  and  hilarity  to  spare. 
For  the  most  part  the  steady  routine  of  w^ork  kept  up  day 
by  day  —  receiving  and  dismissing  bands  of  Indians  who 
came  in  to  trade,  watching  the  country  for  signs  of  buffalo 
and  when  they  came  sending  parties  out  to  hunt  them,  pre- 
paring and  dispatching  the  winter  express  to  St.  Louis, 
cutting  wood  for  the  annual  steamboat  at  such  posts  as 
were  on  the  river,  keeping  the  account  books,  journals,  and 
correspondence  of  the  posts,  receiving  returns  from  subor- 
dinate houses,  and  baling  and  pressing  furs  for  St.  Louis. 
Once  or  twice  a  year  bundles  of  newspapers  arrived  from  the 
outer  world  and  these  were  read  and  re-read  until  worn 
out  by  the  handling.  Occasionally  distinguished  visitors 
passed  weeks  or  months  at  the  post,  thus  adding  a  new  and 
interesting  element  to  its  life.  Hunting  was  the  one  great 
amusement  and  in  this  the  buffalo  chase  stood  supreme. 
There  was  of  course  a  variety  of  games  and  the  Fort  Pierre 
journal  occasionally  mentions  them  in  its  records.  The  ar- 
rival of  bands  of  free  trappers  was  always  signalized  by  a 
season  of  debauch  in  which  the  astute  trader  got  not  only  all 
the  furs,  but  generally  all  the  money  he  had  paid  for  them. 
As  there  were  competing  establishments  at  most  of  the 
important  situations  a  degree  of  social  intercourse  was  kept 
up  between  them.  There  were  "  calls  "  and  "  dinners  " 
back  and  forth,  for  the  exigencies  of  competition  were  never 


ARRIVAL   OF   ANNUAL    CONVOY.  49 

permitted  to  interfere  with  those  amenities  which  are  nat- 
urally observed  between  man  and  man. 

The  most  notable  event  in  the  life  of  the  trading  post 
was  the  arrival  of  the  annual  convoy  from  the  States,  wheth- 
er the  steamboat  or  keelboat  on  the  Missouri,  the  brigade 
in  the  mountains,  or  the  caravan  on  the  plains.  This  was 
the  time  when  the  business  of  the  past  year  was  closed  up 
and  a  new  year  begun.  Engages  whose  terms  of  service  had 
expired  might  now  return  home  while  others  came  to  take 
their  places.  The  convoy  brought  merchandise  for  the  next 
year's  trade,  packages  and  letters  from  friends,  and  papers 
from  the  outside  world.  It  took  back  the  cargoes  of  furs 
and  peltries  gathered  during  the  year  and  such  of  the  force 
whose  terms  of  service  had  expired  and  who  did  not  wish  to 
remain  longer.  The  arrival  of  the  Missouri  steamboat  in 
particular  was  an  event  looked  forward  to  with  the  most 
eager  interest.  When  the  time  had  come  to  expect  it  Indian 
runners  were  dispatched  down  the  river  a  hundred  miles 
or  so  to  bring  the  first  news  of  her  approach.  Then  the 
bourgeois  and  his  clerk  would  sometimes  set  out  in  a  canoe 
and  meet  the  boat  on  her  way.  When  the  lofty  smoke 
stacks  burst  into  sight  from  behind  the  last  bluff  which 
excluded  her  from  view,  the  fort  let  go,  in  joyful  salute, 
such  artillery  as  it  possessed,  while  the  whole  population  — 
traders,  engages,  and  Indians  —  went  down  to  the  bank  to 
bid  welcome  to  the  visitor. 

At  the  more  important  posts  a  daily  journal  of  events 
was  regularly  kept.  Fragments  of  those  at  Forts  Pierre, 
Clark,  and  Union  have  been  preserved  and  give  us  an  inside 
view  of  the  kind  of  life  that  was  led  there.^ 

In  the  matter  of  geographical  distribution  the  controlling 
factor  in  the  location  of  the  posts  was  the  convenience  of 
the  Indians.  Not  infrequently  the  tribes  arbitrarily  desig- 
nated the  spots  where  the  posts  should  be  built.  The  geog- 
raphy of  the  country  exercised  an  important  influence  on 
the  commercial  value  of  any  situation.     The  post  at  the 

*  See  Appendix  F. 


50  GEOGRAPHICAL    DISTRIBUTION. 

mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  for  example,  commanded  the 
commerce  of  two  great  rivers  and  became  a  most  important 
establishment.  So  throughout  the  West  in  all  those  situa- 
tions like  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  the  mouth  of  the 
Laramie,  the  heart  of  the  Blackfoot,  Sioux,  and  Mandan 
countries,  the  headwaters  of  the  Arkansas  and  South  Platte, 
where  the  advantages  for  trade  were  greatest,  the  trading 
post  arose.  In  general  there  were  two  or  three  such  posts 
belonging  to  different  companies. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    TRAPPING    FRATERNITY. 

The  Bourgeois  or  Partisan  —  The  hunter  and  trapper  —  Camp  keep- 
ers —  Free  trappers  —  The  voyageur  —  The  American  hunter  —  Arti- 
sans —  Mangeurs  de  lard  —  Habits  of  thrift  —  Physiognomy  —  Dress 
—  Shelter  —  Wages  —  Desertion  —  Language  —  Lack  of  interest  in  ge- 
ology, etc. 

TfTj  NDER  this  title  will  be  considered  the  wandering  pop- 
^■^  ulation  of  the  Western  country  who  entered  it  upon 
its  discovery  for  purposes  of  trade  and  adventure,  and  who 
for  many  years  were  the  sole  representatives  of  white  occu- 
pancy. Their  life  was  peculiar  and  forms  a  distinct  and 
unique  phase  in  the  growth  of  American  communities.  It 
was  the  first  phase  of  this" growth,  for  it  was  the  trader,  the 
trapper,  and  the  hunter  who  paved  the  way  for  the  settlement 
and  development  that  were  to  follow. 

It  would  scarcely  be  possible  to  propose  any  distinct  type 
as  characteristic  of  the  trapping  fraternity.  In  the  first 
place  there  were  three  separate  nationalities,  American, 
French  and  Spanish,  who  carried  into  the  life  of  the  West 
their  peculiar  national  traits  quite  Independently  of  the  par- 
ticular work  in  which  they  were  engaged.  Then  there  was 
a  wide  variety  of  occupation  in  the  business  of  the  fur  trade 
and  the  individual  who  filled  one  role  might  be  a  very  differ- 
ent sort  of  man  from  him  who  filled  another.  It  is  therefore 
necessary  to  consider  the  various  features  of  this  early  busi- 
ness in  order  to  understand  what  manner  of  man  was  partic- 
ularly suited  to  each. 

THE  BOURGEOIS  AND  THE  PARTISAN. 

By  these  terms  were  usually  designated  those  who  had 


52  THE    BOURGEOIS    AND    PARTISAN. 

C charge  of  the  trading  posts  and  field  expeditions  of  the  vari- 
ous companies.  The  bourgeois  was  the  manager  of  the 
trading  post,  while  the  partisan  was  the  leader  of  the  expe- 
dition, for  it  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  were  two 
distinct  methods  of  conducting  the  fur  business,  one  at  per- 
manent posts  and  the  other  at  temporary  rendezvous.  The 
bourgeois  had  absolute  authority  at  his  post,  and  conducted 
his  business  with  an  almost  military  discipline.  He  usually 
dined  either  alone  or  with  a  few  only  of  the  leading  subor- 
dinates. The  distinction  of  rank  was  strictly  drawn  and  the 
common  mongciir  de  lard  would  no  sooner  presume  unbid- 
den to  hold  social  intercourse  with  his  bourgeois  than  would 
a  soldier  with  his  regimental  commander.  In  some  of  the 
posts  in  the  early  days  the  bourgeois  wore  a  kind  of  uni- 
form. This  was  particularly  true  of  that  considerable 
leaven  which  came  into  the  American  fur  trade  through 
the  Columbia  Fur  Company.  McKenzie  at  Fort  Union 
wore  uniform  and  so  for  a  time  did  Laidlaw  at  Pierre. 

The  bourgeois  was  nearly  always  a  partner  in  the  com- 
pany. He  was  director  in  chief  of  all  the  business  at  the 
particular  post  of  which  he  was  in  charge  and  controlled 
the  policyof  trade  with  the  Indians  who  belonged  geograph- 
ically to  it.  He  organized  parties  of  trappers  to  work  up 
particular  streams,  and  sent  individual  traders  to  such  tribes 
as  he  thought  necessary.  He  employed  hunters  to  keep  the 
post  supplied  with  fresh  meat  and  he  directed  to  what  extent 
gardening  should  be  carried  on,  or  other  means  be  adopted 
to  provide  subsistence  at  his  own  and  the  outlying  posts. 
He  selected  certain  subordinates  to  conduct  the  trade  with 
visiting  Indians,  others  to  care  for  and  pack  the  furs  for 
shipment,  while  he  attended  to  the  correspondence  with  the 
company  at  St.  Louis  or  with  his  lieutenants  at  detached 
stations. 

His  duties  were  of  the  most  comprehensive  nature  and  it 
required  a  man  of  great  administrative  ability  to  manage 
them.  And  so  we  find  that  the  bourgeois  at  such  posts  as 
Pierre  and  Union  or  Bent's  Fort  on  the  Arkansas  were  men 


THE    CLERK.  53 

of  a  high  order  of  ability.  Kenneth  McKenzie,  WilHam 
Laidlaw,  Alexander  Culbertson,  William  Bent,  and  others 
were  fit  men  to  command  armies,  manage  great  railroads,  or 
fill  any  high  calling  to  which  the  fortune  of  life  might  have 
led  them.  No  commander  of  a  military  post  on  the  frontier 
ever  carried  a  greater  responsibility  than  did  these  important 
bourgeois,  whose  authority  covered  a  vast  stretch  of  terri- 
tory where  the  rule  of  law  did  not  reach  and  where  they  had 
to  deal  continually  with  restless  adventurers  and  savage  men. 
What  was  true  of  the  bourgeois  of  the  great  posts  was 
equally  true  of  the  partisan  or  leader  of  the  itinerant  expe- 
ditions. The  nature  of  their  business  was  somewhat  differ- 
ent, but  the  qualities  of  success  were  the  same  and  one  may 
find  the  counterparts  of  the  McKenzies  and  Culbertsons  of 
the  trading  posts  in  the  Ashleys,  Smiths,  and  Sublettes  of 
the  mountains, 

CLERK. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  bourgeois  was  the  clerk, 
whose  duties  placed  him  first  in  line  of  promotion.  He  was 
entitled  to  the  same  social  rank  as  the  bourgeois,  and  in 
the  latter's  absence  succeeded  to  his  duties.  He  was  fre- 
quently in  command  of  posts,  and  his  work  on  the  whole 
was  the  most  exacting  of  any  that  pertained  to  the  trade. 
He  was  often  required  to  take  an  outfit  of  merchandise 
and  proceed  to  some  Indian  village,  there  to  reside  in  the 
lodge  of  a  chief  until  the  trade  of  the  band  had  been  ex- 
hausted. 

There  were  usually  several  clerks  at  the  more  important 
posts.  The  most  trusted  of  them  were  frequently  stock- 
holders or  partners  in  the  companies  for  which  they  were 
working,  but  ordinarily  they  were  only  salaried  employes. 

THE  HUNTER  AND  TRAPPER.^ 

The  hunters  and  trappers  can  hardly  be  said  to  have 
constituted  a  distinct  class,  for  they  were  men  who  could 

*  The  term  "  mountaineer "   was   extensively  used  in   describing  the 
personnel  of  the  mountain  expeditions. 


54  THE    HUNTER    AND    TRAPPER. 

turn  their  hand  to  ahnost  any  work  that  fell  in  their  way. 
There  were,  indeed,  in  ever}^  expedition  skilled  hunters 
whose  duty  it  was  to  beat  up  the  country  along  the  route 
and  provide  meat  for  the  party,  and  there  were  also  men 
who  followed  the  streams  exclusively  and  spent  their  lives 
trapping  beaver;  but  in  general  the  hunter  was  a  versatile 
genius  who  adapted  himself  to  whatever  duty  presented 
itself. 

When  it  was  desired  to  work  up  a  section  of  country  by 
trapping  its  streams,  it  was  the  usual  practice  for  the  larger 
parties  to  break  up  into  small  groups,  each  group  taking  a 
particular  stream  or  locality.  In  this  way  lone  bands  would 
penetrate  to  the  most  obscure  and  inaccessible  retreats  of 
the  mountains  and  remain  perhaps  weeks  or  months  with- 
out seeing  another  individual  than  their  own  party.  It  was 
not  often,  however,  that  the  resources  of  a  stream  took  long 
to  exhaust  them  and  the  parties  usually  reappeared  after  a 
few  days,  ready  to  take  up  another  stream  or  join  the  main 
party  in  a  move  to  a  different  locality.  Frequently  the 
danger  from  the  Indians  forbade  separation  into  small 
groups  and  the  whole  party  had  to  keep  together. 

The  life  of  these  lonely  hermits  of  the  mountains,  like  the 
solitary  sheepherder  of  today,  seems  unendurable  to  one  who 
is  fond  of  social  intercourse,  or  at  least  of  seeing  now  and 
then  some  one  or  more  of  his  fellowmen.  The  habit  of 
seclusion,  however,  seemed  to  grow  upon  the  individual 
and  he  came  to  love  the  life  in  spite  of  its  solitude,  its  hard- 
ships, and  its  privations. 

CAMP  KEEPERS. 

Under  this  designation  it  is  intended  to  include  only  those 
individuals  in  the  trapping  expeditions  to  the  mountains 
whose  duty  it  was  to  remain  in  camp  and  care  for  the  furs 
which  their  companions  might  collect.  They  skinned  the 
beaver  and  other  animals;  cleaned,  dressed,  and  dried  the 
skins,  and  did  whatever  other  work  was  required  to  protect 
and  preserve  the  fruits  of  the  chase.     They  also  cared  for 


FREE    TRAPPERS.  55 

the  Stock  and  attended  to  other  duties  of  the  camp.     There 
was  usually  one  of  these  camp  keepers  to  about  two  trappers. 

FREE  TRAPPERS. 

A  characteristic  class  engaged  in  the  fur  trade  was  that 
of  the  free  hunters  or  trappers.  As  the  name  implies,  these 
people  were  not  bound  to  service  with  any  company.  They 
had  their  own  individual  organization  and  went  when  and 
where  they  chose.  Sometimes  there  were  a  number  of  free 
trappers  together,  each  independent  of  the  other,  capturing 
and  selling  his  own  peltries,  but  keeping  with  the  rest  for 
self-protection.  In  other  instances  the  free  trapper  was  a 
sort  of  partisan  and  had  his  own  party  bound  to  him  in 
service.  The  results  of  the  hunt  all  went  to  him,  under 
certain  arrangements,  and  he  generally  took  his  furs  to  the 
nearest  trading  post  for  sale,  or  even  went  with  them  him- 
self to  St.  Louis. 

The  free  trappers,  or  freemen,  as  they  were  commonly 
called,  were  the  most  interesting  and  enviable  class  in  the 
mountains.  Bound  to  no  company,  free  to  go  where  they 
pleased,  they  were  held  in  higher  repute  than  any  other 
class.  Moreover  they  were  men  of  bold  and  adventurous 
spirit  for  none  other  would  have  the  courage  to  follow  so 
hazardous  a  business.  They  were  liable,  however,  to  have 
too  much  of  this  spirit,  or  perhaps  better,  too  much  of  a 
ruffian  spirit.  The  leader  could  not  always  control  them 
and  they  were  prone  to  all  sorts  of  excesses.  Vain  of  their 
appearance,  extravagantly  fond  of  ornament  for  both  them- 
selves and  their  steeds,  they  rivaled  the  proud  Indian  him- 
self in  the  profusion  of  gewgaws  which  decked  out  their 
attire.  They  were  likewise  utterly  improvident,  fond  of 
gambling,  and  of  all  sorts  of  trials  of  skill,  and  it  was  a 
general  rule  that  most  of  the  proceeds  of  their  labor  were 
quickly  squandered  at  the  first  rendezvous  or  post  which 
they  reached. 

THE  VOYAGEUR. 

As  Is  well  known,  the  French  Creole,  both  of  Canada  and 


56  THE    VOYAGEUR. 

Louisiana,  was  a  very  important  figure  in  the  early  fur 
trade.  It  is  probable  that  at  least  four-fifths  of  the  lower 
grades  of  employes  were  of  this  nationality,  and  as  the  dif- 
ferences of  habit  and  temperament  between  them  and  the 
American  were  marked,  it  will  be  of  advantage  to  present 
a  brief  comparison  of  the  two. 

The  voyageur  had  a  light  and  buoyant  vein  in  his  na- 
ture which  was  totally  wanting  in  the  American.  He  was 
always  singing  at  his  work,  laughing  and  joking  with  his 
companions,  and  cheerful  and  happy  in  his  manner.  His 
willingness  to  toil,  his  complacent  endurance  of  the  most 
prodigious  labors  and  his  long  acquiescence  in  the  most 
scanty  provision  for  food  and  shelter  made  him  the  cheerful 
slave  of  the  fur  trade.  It  would  have  been  impossible  to 
have  extorted  similar  service  from  an  American.  As  a  gen- 
eral thing  his  field  of  work  was  more  upon  the  water  than 
upon  land,  although  this  was  not  an  exclusive  rule.  It  was 
he  who  cordelled  the  keelboat  up  the  long  course  of  the 
Missouri  and  performed  the  arduous  labors  connected  with 
the  navigation  of  that  most  stubborn  stream.  The  canoe  or 
other  craft,  and  not  the  horse,  was  therefore  his  mode  of 
conveyance;  the  water  was  his  natural  element,  and  the 
river  valleys,  rather  than  the  mountains  and  the  plains,  were 
his  home. 

As  a  rule  the  voyageurs  were  wholly  illiterate  and  very 
few  of  them  were  able  to  sign  their  contracts  of  service. 
They  were  not  a  brave  people,  and  their  fears  when  upon 
dangerous  ground  were  often  ludicrous  in  the  extreme. 
They  were  all  devout  Catholics. 

The  voyageur  was  beyond  comparison  the  most  inter- 
esting and  picturesque  personality  in  the  trapping  frater- 
nity —  mild  in  disposition,  mercurial  in  temper,  obedient, 
willing,  and  contented,  ever  ready  to  undergo  the  most 
severe  hardship,  and  altogether  a  most  useful  and  indispen- 
sable character  in  the  business  of  the  fur  trader. 

The  American  hunter,  on  the  other  hand,  lacked  the 
vivacity  and  happy  temperament  of  the  Frenchman.     He 


CANADIAN    BOAT    SONGS.  57 

was  less  subservient  and  compliant  under  authority.  He 
was  more  of  a  "  deserter,"  more  independent,  talked  and 
sang  less,  and  in  outward  appearance  was  a  less  amiable 
and  agreeable  character  to  get  along  with.  But  in 
dangerous  emergencies,  in  long  and  arduous  undertak- 
ings, and  in  sterling  qualities  in  battle  he  was  far  and  away 
above  his  Gallic  brother.  If,  in  service  on  the  rivers,  Mr. 
Astor's  estimate  was  true  that  one  Canadian  voyageur  was 
worth  three  Americans,  it  was  equally  true  that  in  the  rough 
life  of  the  wilderness  one  American  hunter  was  worth  three 
Canadians.  Each  filled  a  place  which  the  other  could  not, 
and  all  comparisons  should  take  this  fact  into  consideration 
lest  injustice  be  done  on  either  side.^ 

ARTISANS,  ETC. 

There  were  always  at  the  larger  posts  various  grades  of 

^  The  common  verdict  of  the  traders,  as  well  as  of  travelers,  is  that 
the  voyageur  was  very  deficient  in  physical  courage.  Ashley  com- 
plained that  they  utterly  failed  him  at  the  time  of  the  Aricara  fight. in 
1823.  Maximilian,  Prince  of  Wied,  records  that  when  passing  some 
dangerous  ground,  "  my  Canadians  were  so  timid  that  they  did  not 
venture  to  speak  aloud."  They  were  always  terror-stricken  in  the 
presence  of  Indians  whose  friendship  was  doubtful. 

The  Canadian  boat  songs  were  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  voya- 
geur's  life.  They  were  usually  simple  ditties  and  were  a  great  relief  in 
times  of  difficult  work,  when  they  cheered  up  the  weary  company  as 
martial  music  does  the  tired  soldier.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  more  of 
these  songs  have  not  been  preserved.  The  following  stanzas  illustrate 
their  general  quality : 

"  Dans  mon  chemin  j'ai  rencontre 
Trois  cavalieres  bien  montees, 

L'on,   ton,  laridon  danee 

L'on,   ton,   laridon,   dai. 

"  Trois  cavalieres  bien  montees, 
L'une  a  cheval,  I'autre  a  pied. 
L'on,  ton,  etc." 

The  Canadians,  despite  the  scantiness  of  their  allowance  of  food, 
were  great  eaters  when  they  could  get  what  they  wanted,  and  it  was  a 
common  saw  in  the  fur  business  that  two  Canadians  would  devour  off- 
hand the  whole  side  of  a  buffalo. 


58  MANGEURS    DE    LARD. 

artisans  such  as  blacksmiths,  carpenters,  and  boat  builders, 
who  were  qualified  for  any  special  work  which  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  service  might  require.  With  the  overland  expe- 
ditions there  were  of  course  the  necessary  packers,  team- 
sters, and  camp  followers  to  do  the  work  of  the  camp  and 
the  march. 

MANGEURS  DE  LARD. 

To  perform  the  common  labor  of  the  fur  trade  there  were 
annually  imported  from  Canada  numbers  of  raw  recruits 
who  were  wholly  without  experience  in  the  business.  They 
were  bound  for  a  period  of  five  years  under  the  most 
rigorous  engagement,  and  at  wages  that  made  it  impossible 
for  them  to  arrive  at  the  end  of  their  term  without  being 
in  their  employers'  debt.  As  there  was  no  way  for  them  to 
get  passage  out  of  the  country  while  so  in  debt,  they  were 
compelled  to  remain  and  keep  at  work  or  resort  to  the 
dangerous  expedient  of  desertion.  En  route  from  Canada 
to  their  places  of  work  they  were  fed  on  pork,  hard  bread, 
and  pea  soup,  but  principally  on  pork,  from  which  circum- 
stance they  were  called  mangenrs  de  lard,  or  pork  eaters, 
by  the  more  experienced  voyageurs.  From  this  association 
the  term  came  to  be  used  in  ridicule  to  denote  a  greenhorn, 
tenderfoot,  or  generally  an  individual  of  no  experience.^ 

CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  TRAPPING  FRATERNITY. 

Habits  of  thrift  among  the  trappers  were  practically  un- 
known. They  were  improvident,  largely  by  choice.  They 
spurned  the  idea  of  frugality  or  economy  in  regard  to  their 
earnings,  and  were  therefore  always  poor.     Zenas  Leonard, 

*  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  in  one  of  his  letters  characterizes  an  employe 
who  had  made  a  false  step  as  "a  raw  hand,  a  new  beginner,  or  in  com- 
mon parlance,  a  mangeur  de  lard."  Father  De  Smet  says  that  the  term 
was  applied  by  way  of  pleasantry  to  anyone  who  was  making  his  first 
appearance  in  the  country. 

Those  who  had  passed  several  winters  in  the  Indian  country  and  had 
gained  some  experience  were  often  called  hivcrnans  or  zvinterers.  The 
common  hired  hands  engaged  at  St.  Louis  were  generally  termed 
engages. 


PHYSIOGNOMY    OF    THE    TRAPPER.  59 

who  passed  three  years  with  them,  and  whose  experiences 
will  be  related  in  another  part  of  this  work,  said :  "  Scarce- 
ly one  man  in  ten  of  those  employed  in  this  country  ever 
thinks  of  saving  a  single  dollar  of  his  earnings,  but  all  spend 
it  as  fast  as  they  can  find  an  object  to  spend  it  for.  They 
care  not  what  may  come  to  pass  tomorrow,  but  think  only 
of  enjoying  the  present  moment."  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth 
said  of  his  own  party :  "  Almost  all  the  men  take  up  [their 
wages]  as  fast  as  they  earn  —  and  would  faster,  if  I  would 
let  them  —  in  goods  at  about  five  hundred  per  cent  on  orig- 
inal cost."  It  was  a  sort  of  mountain  pride,  a  convention 
of  the  business,  to  squander  wages  as  fast  as  earned. 

The  nature  of  service  in  the  wilderness  produced  its  effect 
in  the  physiognomy,  language,  habits,  and  dress  of  the  hunt- 
er. The  hard  life  which  he  was  compelled  to  follow  left  a 
deep  impression  upon  his  physical  appearance.  He  was  or- 
dinarily gaunt  and  spare,  browned  with  exposure,  his  hair 
long  and  unkempt,  while  his  general  make-up,  with  the  queer 
dress  which  he  wore,  made  it  often  difficult  to  distinguish 
him  from  an  Indian.  The  constant  peril  of  his  life  and 
the  necessity  of  unremitting  vigilance  gave  him  a  kind 
of  piercing  look,  his  head  slightly  bent  forward  and 
his  deep  eyes  peering  from  under  a  slouch  hat,  or  whatever 
head-gear  he  might  possess,  as  if  studying  the  face  of  the 
stranger  to  learn  whether  friend  or  foe.  On  the  whole  he 
impressed  one  as  taciturn  and  gloomy,  and  his  life  did  to 
some  extent  suppress  gaiety  and  tenderness.  He  became 
accustomed  to  scenes  of  violence  and  death  and  the  problem 
of  self-preservation  was  of  such  paramount  importance  that 
he  had  but  little  time  to  waste  upon  ineffectual  reflections. 
His  conversation  with  his  companions,  where  interspersed 
with  lighter  touches,  was  still  of  a  dry  wit  order,  not  much 
abounding  in  hearty  laugh  or  relaxed  countenance.  Such 
evidences  of  affection  or  love  for  his  fellows  as  he  did  dis- 
play were  generally  couched  in  language  of  an  opposite 
character  through  which  his  companion  would  divine  his 
intended  meaning.     In  spite,  however,   of  his  apparently 


60  DRESS    OF    THE    HUNTER. 

unsocial  disposition,  he  was  "  generous,  even  to  a  fault." 
So  few  were  his  numbers  that  friendships  became  deeply 
rooted.  His  "  possibles  "  were  always  at  the  disposal  of  his 
companions,  and  their  word  or  promise  was  all  the  security 
he  wanted. 

Partly  from  inclination  and  partly  from  necessity  the 
hunter  in  his  dress  adopted  the  customs  of  the  Indians. 
The  clothes  which  he  brought  from  the  States  quickly 
fell  to  pieces  under  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  life  in  which 
he  was  engaged.  The  Indian  costume  was  the  most  con- 
venient substitute.  There  was  moreover  a  manifest  pride 
on  the  part  of  the  hunter  in  imitating  the  garb  of  his  red 
brethren,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  the  fondness  of  the  latter  for 
the  incongruous  combinations  of  his  own  and  the  white 
man's  clothing  was  more  marked  than  that  of  the  hunter  for 
the  wild  attire  of  the  savage.  The  headdress  in  summer 
usually  consisted  of  a  light  handkerchief,  adjusted  in  the 
style  of  a  turban  so  as  to  be  attractive  in  appearance  while 
serving  as  a  protection  against  heat  and  insects.  The  upper 
part  of  the  body  was  clad  in  a  light  blue  shirt  of  coarse 
cotton  or  other  cloth,  and  in  some  cases  breeches  with  long 
deerskin  leggings  were  worn,  leaving  the  thighs  and  hips 
bare.  *'  The  cloth  which  was  folded  around  the  loins  was 
held  in  place  by  the  girdle,"  while  a  "  hunting  shirt  with  a 
large  cape  and  loose  sleeves  reached  nearly  to  the  knees. 

.  .  It  opened  in  front  like  a  coat  and  was  made  so 
large  as  to  lap  at  least  a  foot  across  the  breast.  The  folds 
of  the  bosom  served  the  purpose  of  a  pocket.  .  .  . 
The  moccasin  was  made  of  a  single  piece  of  heavy  dressed 
buckskin.  A  plain  seam  ran  from  the  heel  to  the  ankle, 
but  the  upper  part,  from  the  toe  to  the  instep,  was  gathered. 
The  shoe  thread  was  the  sinews  of  deer  or  of  buckskin." 

In  winter  the  clothing  as  just  described  was  materially 
increased  both  in  quantity  and  quality.  The  hunting  shirt 
was  made  of  dressed  deerskin.  A  heavy  hooded  cloak, 
called  a  capote,  was  thrown  over  the  shoulders.  The  tops 
of  the  moccasins  were  made  with  long  folds  which  could 


THE    WINTER    CAMP.  6l 

be  wrapped  around  the  ankles  and  the  interior  was  lined 
with  wool  or  deer  hair. 

All  portions  of  this  picturesque  attire,  whether  for  sum- 
mer or  winter  use,  were  ornamented  with  gay  embroidery, 
fringes,  bead  work,  hair,  feathers,  and  other  gewgaws.  A 
belt  hung  over  the  left  shoulder  and  under  the  right  arm 
in  which  the  ammunition  for  his  rifle  was  carried.  In 
leather  bags  attached  to  his  girdle  were  his  knife  and  hatchet 
and  materials  for  mending  his  moccasins,  while  his  few 
remaining  equipments  were  bestowed  upon  other  portions 
of  his  body,^ 

While  wandering  about  on  his  hunting  expeditions  the 
mountaineer  ordinarily  had  no  shelter  but  the  sky  and  lay 
down  to  sleep  in  the  open  air.  His  bed  consisted  generally 
of  a  single  buffalo  robe,  occasionally  with  leaves  or  boughs 
underneath.  His  saddle  often  did  service  as  a  pillow,  while 
one  or  two  blankets  were  his  sole  protection  from  the  cold. 
In  the  winter  season,  or  at  other  times  when  his  business 
required  a  considerable  sojourn  in  one  place,  he  erected 
a  rude  hut  for  his  better  protection  in  either  hot  or  cold 
weather.  It  was  located  near  some  stream  where  both  grass 
and  wood  were  plenty,  and  was  formed  of  skins  spread 
over  an  arched  frame-work  of  saplings  bent  to  a  semicircle 
with  their  extremities  inserted  in  the  ground.  His  fire  was 
built  in  front,  and  near  by  was  a  pole  laden  with  the  various 
meats  which  were  his  main  reliance  for  food.  The  "  grain- 
ing blocks  "  and  stretching  frame,  used  in  cleaning  and  cur- 
ing the  skins,  stood  conveniently  at  hand.  The  traps  hung 
on  some  neighboring  tree  and  perhaps  a  brace  of  elk  antlers 
did  service  as  a  rack  on  which  to  hang  his  articles  of  clothing 
when  not  in  use.     The  various  equipments  for  his  horse  were 

*  This  description  of  the  hunter's  apparel  is  mainly  borrowed  and 
condensed  from  an  article  in  the  Encyclopedia  of  St.  Louis  (1899). 
It  is  the  most  complete  that  has  fallen  under  the  author's  notice,  and  is 
from  the  pen  of  Prof.  Sylvester  Waterhouse,  of  Washington  University, 
St.  Louis  —  a  most  painstaking  investigator,  the  fruit  of  whose  careful 
researches  has  enriched  the  work  of  more  than  one  writer  upon  these 
themes. 


62  WAGES    IN    THE    FUR    TRADE. 

carefully  bestowed  in  some  convenient  place  and  the  steed 
himself  was  probably  grazing  near  by  or  eating  the  bark 
of  Cottonwood  trees  felled  for  the  purpose.'' 

The  hunter's  "  possibles "  or  "  fixens,"  as  his  equip- 
ment and  luxuries  were  called  by  himself,  were  very  limited, 
for  his  manner  of  life  required  that  he  should  be  as  free  of 
impedimenta  as  possible.  His  rifle  and  its  appurtenances, 
his  traps,  knives,  hatchet,  a  few  culinary  utensils,  his  tobac- 
co, and  some  indispensable  articles  of  food  such  as  coffee, 
sugar,  and  salt  —  these  with  his  bedding  and  the  equipments 
for  his  horse  constituted  the  extent  of  his  worldly  belong- 
ings. He  usually  had,  besides  the  horse  he  rode,  one  or 
two  pack  animals  to  carry  his  equipments  and  the  furs  which 
he  might  secure. 

The  wages  paid  in  the  fur  trade  were  very  small  consid- 
ering the  arduous  and  dangerous  character  of  the  work. 
Clerks  received  about  five  hundred  dollars  and  the  engages 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year.  With  this  went 
a  plain  subsistence  which  would  instantly  be  repudiated  by 
a  laboring  man  of  today.  Often  the  engages  were  required 
to  subsist  themselves  "  mix  aliments  dii  pays,"  that  is,  to  get 
along  with  such  provisions  as  they  or  the  hunters  could 
extract  from  the  country.  They  were  required,  when  not 
otherwise  needed,  to  hunt  game,  gather  wild  fruits,  cultivate 
the  gardens  and  do  whatever  else  was  necessary  to  get  provi- 
sions. If  they  ever  indulged  their  appetite  for  sugar  or 
similar  luxuries  which  could  be  had  only  from  the  com- 
pany's warehouse,  they  paid  for  them  at  a  price  which 
quickly  absorbed  their  hard  earnings. 

The  lower  class  of  employes  were  generally  in  the  com- 
pany's debt,  and  this  may  account  in  part  for  the  desertions 
that  were  always  taking  place.  These  were  more  frequent 
among  the  Americans  than  among  the  Creoles,  but  they 
were  common  with  both.  One  can  form  some  idea  of  the 
severe  service  required  of  these  engages  when  they  were 

^  This  descrii)tion  of  a  winter  shelter  for  the  hunter  is  drawn  in  part 
from  Rocky  Mountain  Life  —  Sage,  p.  348. 


THE    HUNTERS    NOT    GOLD    SEEKERS.  63 

willing,  in  order  to  escape  from  it,  to  undertake  the  hazard- 
ous experiment  of  desertion.  Often  two  or  three  men  with 
a  canoe,  if  on  the  river,  or  their  horses,  if  inland,  would  start 
for  St.  Louis,  a  thousand  miles  away,  through  tribes  of 
hostile  Indians^  always  in  danger  of  death  or  recapture.  In 
spite  of  the  romance  of  the  trapper's  life,  it  had  its  dark 
side,  a  side  that  would  be  very  dark  if  placed  alongside  of 
the  laboring  man's  condition  of  today. 

Xhe^language  of  the  trappers  was  a  strange  medley  of 
English,  French,  and  Spanish  and  as  distant  from  gram- 
matical and  literary  propriety  as  it  is  possible  to  conceive. 
As  in  all  situations  where  men  are  long  associated  in  the 
same  business  and  in  a  measure  excluded  from  contact  with 
the  world  around  them,  a  peculiar  jargon  grew  up  among 
the  trapping  fraternity,  vigorous,  and  picturesque,  if  not 
choice,  in  its  details,  but  now  entirely  extinct.  Only  in  a 
few  old  narratives  of  the  times  does  it  still  survive  with 
any  degree  of  fidelity.^ 

Here  we  may  properly  consider  an  historic  peculiarity 
of  the  trapping  fraternity  which  has  more  than  once  attract- 
ed attention  —  their  utter  lack  of  interest  in  the  geological 
formations  or  mineral  deposits  of  the  country  over  which 
they  roamed  so  extensively.  It  is  indeed  a  singular  fact 
that  a  class  of  men  like  the  American  hunters,  who  shrank 
at  no  toil  in  their  search  for  wealth,  should  have  been  so 
oblivious  to  whatever  lay  beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth. 
Considering  the  fascination  which  the  search  for  gold  has 
had  for  adventurers  in  all  ages,  it  is  inexplicable  that  those 
hardy  spirits  should  have  roamed  back  and  forth  for  half  a 
century  or  more  over  those  now  famous  spots  where  wealth 
could  be  had  by  stooping  to  pick  it  up,  and  should  have 
remained  unconscious  of  its  presence.  It  seems  like  a  provi- 
dential interposition  that  thus  concealed  the  knowledge  of 
the  mineral  riches  of  the  west  until  all  those  controversies 
over  the  questions  of  international  boundary  were  perma- 

'  The  best  of  these  is  Life  in   the  Far   West  by  George  Frederick 
Ruxton,  London,  1849. 


64  FOREIGN    TERRITORY. 

nently  settled.  For  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  during 
nearly  all  of  the  first  half  of  the  present  century  a  large  part 
of  the  country  roamed  over  by  the  trapper  did  not  belong 
to  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

LIFE  IN   THE    WILDERNESS. 

Love  of  wilderness  life  —  Absence     of     legal     restraint  —  Business 
methods  —  Personal  relations. 

*|rT  was  a  common  observation  by  travelers  in  the  Far  West 
"  during  the  fur-trading  era  that  those  who  once  entered 
the  wild  life  of  the  wilderness  clung  to  it  afterward  as  if  by 
an  irresistible  fascination.  It  is  not  difficult  to  account  for 
this  fact,  so  far  as  it  is  actually  true.  Most  men  have  an 
element  of  aboriginal  life  in  their  make-up,  perhaps  the  long 
suppressed  characteristic  from  the  times  when  their  ances- 
tors so  lived.  The  advantages  of  civilization  are  all  pur- 
chased at  the  expense  of  freedom;  and  the  more  profuse 
and  abundant  these  advantages  the  more  rigid  are  the  restric- 
tions upon  physical  liberty.  One  may  not  walk  except  upon 
paths  specially  prepared  for  that  purpose ;  he  may  not  gather 
fruits  where  he  sees  them ;  he  may  not  recline  on  the 
grass,  however  inviting,  nor  lounge  under  trees,  however 
grateful  the  shade.  The  native  fondness  for  freedom  of 
movement  never  ceases  to  chafe  under  these  restrictions  and 
is  always  seeking  relief  by  expeditions  to  the  "  country  "  or 
the  mountains.  And  so  in  these  early  times  men  sought  the 
wilderness  life  because  of  its  exemptions  from  the  artificial 
restraints  of  civilization.  Like  old  Jim  Bridger,  they  found 
the  canons  of  the  cities  (as  he  called  the  streets)  too  con- 
tracted for  their  robust  freedom,  and  they  longed  for  those 
grander  avenues  laid  out  by  nature  in  the  boundless  region 
of  the  West. 

The  fictitious  barriers  which  society  erects  between  man 
and  man,  the  power  of  wealth,  the  exclusiveness  of  rank. 


66  LOVE    OF    WILDERNESS    LIFE. 

were  mostly  absent.  All  were  equal  and  shared  the  toil 
of  the  day  and  the  rest  of  night  with  their  fellows.  Such 
conditions  are  always  attractive  and  particularly  so  to  those 
whose  social  and  financial  condition  in  civilized  communities 
places  them  in  what  may  be  called  the  lower  class.  More- 
over, long  absence  from  the  frontiers,  especially  from  the 
larger  towns  like  St.  Louis,  threw  one  out  of  touch  with 
the  old  life,  and  it  was  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  pick  up 
the  thread  where  it  was  left  off.  There  was  a  sense  of  awk- 
wardness on  the  part  of  the  returned  wanderer,  a  feeling 
that  the  old  places  he  used  to  fill  were  occupied  by  some  one 
else,  that  made  him  the  more  ready  to  get  back  into  the 
prairies  and  mountains  where  conventionalities  never  stood 
in  his  way. 

Then  there  was  the  love  of  adventure,  so  natural  to  the 
heart  of  everyone,  that  led  men  to  the  wilderness  and 
kept  them  there.  The  excitement  of  the  chase,  the  crossing 
of  rivers  and  mountains,  the  meeting  with  savage  tribes, 
all  were  new  and  interesting  and  drew  many  a  youth  into  a 
kind  of  life  which  he  never  afterward  abandoned. 

The  Western  country  was  proverbially  healthy,  and  the 
enforced  abstinence  from  injurious  practices  kept  the  body 
well  and  the  mind  clear.  If  starvation  often  stared  the 
hunter  in  the  face,  the  disorders  of  an  over-fed  stomach 
never  disturbed  his  slumbers  nor  sapped  his  constitution 
with  disease.     Men  loved  the  country  for  its  healthfulness.* 

There  were  other  and  less  creditable  reasons  why  the  wil- 
derness had  an  attraction  for  some.  Every  expedition  had 
in  its  ranks  not  a  few  who  had  committed  crimes  which 
led  them  to  seek  immunity  from  punishment  by  getting 
beyond  the  pale  of  the  law.  Thus  an  old  trapper  back  in  the 
thirties,  who  has  left  us  a  record  of  his  adventures,  refers  as 
follows  to  the  event  of  his  departure  for  home  with  some 
of  his  companions  after  an  absence  of  three  years :     "  On 

* "  Among  our  partisans  in  the  mountains,  sickness  and  natural  deaths 
are  almost  unknown."  Statement  by  Smith,  Jackson  and  Sublette 
about   1830. 


FUGITIVES    FROM    JUSTICE.  6/ 

parting  this  time  many  of  the  men  were  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  to  do.  Many  were  anxious  to  return  to  the  States, 
but  feared  to  do  so  lest  the  offended  law  might  hold  them 
responsible  for  misdemeanors  committed  previous  to  their 
embarking  in  the  trapping  business.  Others  could  not  be 
persuaded  to  return  at  any  price,  declaring  that  civilization 
had  no  charms  for  them."  - 

Thus  from  one  cause  or  another  it  resulted  that  men  who 
embarked  in  this  wild  life  formed  a  liking  for  it  and  were 
apt  to  return  to  it  even  if  they  abandoned  it  for  a  time. 
This  feeling  was  not  confined  to  any  particular  class,  but 
prevailed  equally  among  all.  The  record  left  by  Josiah 
Gregg,  who  was  always  careful  and  conservative  in  his 
statements,  is  not  an  unusual  one :  "  It  will  hardly  be  a 
matter  of  surprise  then  when  I  add  that  this  passion  for 
prairie  life  will  be  very  apt  to  lead  me  upon  the  plains 
again,  to  spread  my  bed  with  the  mustang  and  the  buffalo 
under  the  broad  canopy  of  heaven;  there  to  seek  to  main- 
tain undisturbed  my  confidence  in  man  by  fraternizing  with 
the  little  prairie  dogs  and  wild  colts,  and  the  wilder  Indi- 
ans —  the  unconquered  Sabaeans  of  the  American  Deserts." 
And  again  he  says  that  *'  scarcely  a  day  passes  without  my 
feeling  a  pang  of  regret  that  I  am  not  now  roving  upon 
those  western  plains.  Nor  do  I  find  my  taste  peculiar ;  for 
I  have  hardly  known  a  man,  who  has  ever  become  familiar 
with  the  kind  of  life  which  I  have  led  for  so  many  years,  that 
has  not  relinquished  it  with  regret." 

It  was  not,  however,  all  who  felt  this  way,  as  one  may 
readily  gather  from  notes  of  the  times  and  particularly  from 
the  prevalence  of  desertions  among  the  engages  of  the  Amer- 
ican Fur  Company.  To  them,  indeed,  the  blessing  of  free- 
dom did  not  fully  materialize.  They  had  in  a  measure 
jumped  out  of  the  frying  pan  into  the  fire.  They  had  left 
the  restraints  of  society  for  the  even  greater  restraints  and 
arduous  toil  of  one  of  the  most  exacting  concerns  known  in 
commercial  history.     It  was  therefore  an  every-day  occur- 

'  Adventures  of  Zenas  Leonard.  Clearfield,  Pa.,  1879,  P-  86. 


68  ABSENCE  OF  LEGAL  RESTRAINT. 

rence  for  men  of  this  class  to  seek  escape  from  their  obliga- 
tions and  to  return  to  their  homes.  But  on  the  whole  it 
was  true  then  as  it  is  today,  that  any  one  who  had  become 
familiar  with  that  wild  and  rugged  country  never  lost  the 
desire  to  return  there. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  absence  of  legal 
restraint  as  one  of  the  valued  privileges  pertaining  to  the 
business  of  the  trapper,  and  it  is  an  interesting  question  to 
know  to  what  extent,  if  any,  this  condition  operated  to  de- 
prive men  of  the  rights  to  which  they  are  entitled  in  a  civ- 
ilized state  of  society.  Beyond  the  military  post  of  Fort 
Leavenworth  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction  extended  only 
in  name  during  the  entire  period  covered  by  this  work.  It 
might  be  concluded  from  this  that,  as  the  country  was  liter- 
ally lawless,  or  without  means  of  enforcing  laws,  lawless- 
ness and  disorder  would  be  the  rule.  Such  was  not  the 
case.  If  due  allowance  be  made  for  the  fact,  brought 
out  in  the  preceding  pages,  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
trapping  fraternity  were  desperate  characters,  if  not  actual 
outlaws,  when  they  entered  the  fur  trade,  it  will  be  found 
that  life,  liberty,  and  the  rights  of  property,  were  as  much 
respected  in  the  depths  of  the  wilderness  as  within  the  best 
regulated  of  cities. 

In  the  matter  of  business  competition  things  were  un- 
doubtedly done  in  this  remote  country  which  could  not  have 
been  done  where  the  laws  were  in  full  force.  The  robbery 
of  Fitzpatrick  by  the  Crows,  already  cited,  was  an  instance. 
The  very  year  following  this  event  Fitzpatrick  refused  to 
stand  by  an  agreement  to  receive  an  invoice  of  goods  from 
Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth  after  the  latter  had  purchased  and 
transported  them  all  the  way  from  Boston  to  the  valley 
of  Green  river.  These  were  the  harsher  features  which 
competition  in  business  assumed  when  it  was  possible  to 
arrive  at  one's  end  by  mere  brute  force. 

But  in  reviewing  the  dark  and  shadowy  transactions  of 
a  period  now  so  deeply  buried  in  the  past,  it  will  be  well  to 
avoid  the  natural  inclination  to  compare  them  more  unfav- 


THE    CODE    OF    BUSINESS.  69 

orably  than  they  deserve  with  the  business  methods  of  mod- 
ern times.  As  a  matter  of  fact  he  who  examines  the  motive 
as  well  as  the  deed  will  find  it  difficult  to  say  in  which  period 
these  methods  stood  upon  the  higher  ground.  It  is  not  so 
certain  that  the  code  of  the  wilderness  would  not  bear  favor- 
able comparison  with  that  of  the  modern  business  world. 
Too  great  distinction  is  often  made  between  physical  and 
intellectual  piracy  and  plunder.  The  laws  of  society  strictly 
prohibit  the  use  of  superior  physical  force  in  appropriating 
to  one's  self  the  property  of  others,  but  they  make  no  protest 
against,  nay,  even  protect,  under  legal  forms,  the  exercise  of 
superior  business  sagacity  in  depriving  an  inferior  of  what 
rightfully  belongs  to  him.  It  was  indeed  a  reprehensible 
act  in  the  American  Fur  Company  secretly  to  instigate  the 
Crows  to  rob  Fitzpatrick  of  his  furs ;  but  the  act  was  no  less 
justifiable  morally,  though  transgressing  the  laws  of  the 
land  more  openly,  than  have  been  thousands  of  business 
transactions  in  modern  times  whereby  great  properties  have 
been  wrecked,  honest  holders  deprived  of  their  securities, 
and  financial  ruin  carried  to  innocent  individuals. 

When  it  comes  to  the  personal  relations  of  individuals  to 
each  other  the  account  stands  even  more  in  favor  of  the 
wilderness.  It  has  been  demonstrated  over  and  over  again 
in  the  history  of  the  West  that  the  existence  of  laws,  and  the 
presence  of  lawyers  to  expound  and  of  officers  to  enforce 
them,  are  not  indispensable  to  a  just  and  orderly  condition  in 
thinly  settled  portions  of  a  country.  It  was  the  universal 
testimony  of  those  who  were  familiar  with  the  life  of  the 
trapper,  and  later  with  that  of  the  gold-seeker,  that  crimes 
of  all  colors  were  never  so  few,  nor  punishment  for  such  as 
were  committed  so  just  and  swift  and  sure,  as  in  those 
remote  localities  where  there  were  neither  laws  nor  lawyers. 
Men  trusted  each  other.  Unless  there  were  circumstances 
to  justify  it,  the  trader  or  trapper  was  never  known  to  "lift" 
the  cache  of  his  rival,  even  though  detection  and  discovery 
were  impossible.  They  rarely  required  written  evidence  of 
their  agreements,  for  they  had  implicit  faith  in  the  sanctity 


70 


PERSONAL    RELATIONS. 


of  an  oral  promise.  When  disputes  arose  the  common  rule 
was  to  resort  to  the  code  of  the  duello  in  some  form  or  other, 
and  in  this  way  every  one  knew  that  he  would  be  called  to 
quick  account  for  his  delinquencies.  Each  man  was  in  a 
measure  a  law  to  himself,  but  here,  more  than  in  civilized 
life  —  far  more  —  the  precepts  of  the  Golden  Rule  pre- 
vailed, and  every  man  tried  to  treat  his  neighbor  fairly. 
Those  rude  men  had  a  true  sense  of  justice,  and  if  they 
administered  it  in  a  rough  fashion  there  was  rarely  any  com- 
plaint that  their  judgments  were  wrong.  "  No  court  or 
jury  is  called  to  adjudicate  upon  his  disputes  and  abuses,  " 
says  Gregg,  "  save  his  own  conscience ;  and  no  powers  are 
invoked  to  redress  them  save  those  with  which  the  God  of 
nature  has  endowed  him.  "  It  may  be  truly  said  that  in 
this  land  without  laws  the  personal  relations  of  individuals 
to  each  other  were  as  harmonious  and  just  as  they  are  under 
the  most  elaborate  social  organization. 


PART  II.     HISTORICAL. 


CHAPTER  I. 

LOUISIANA. 


French  colonial  schemes  in  America  —  Early  discoveries  by  Spain, 
France  and  England  —  Marquette  and  Joliet  —  La  Salle  —  Rivalry 
among  colonial  powers  —  The  French  and  Indian  War  —  Loss  of  Amer- 
ican colonies  to  France  —  American  Revolution  —  Spain  and  the  United 
States  —  The  Louisiana  Purchase  —  Downfall  of  Spanish  colonial  sys- 
tem—  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition  —  Pike's  expedition  —  Advent  of 
the  trader. 

'^^HE  territory  which  forms  the  theater  of  the  events 
^*^  described  in  the  following  pages  is  mostly  a  part  of 
what  was  once  the  Province  of  Louisiana  —  that  boundless 
possession  of  the  French  government  in  America  upon 
which  were  built  the  imperial  hopes  of  princely  dominion  be- 
yond the  sea.  Of  the  three  principal  colonizing  powers  of 
Europe  —  Spain,  France,  and  England  —  the  schemes  of 
France  in  North  America  were  the  most  daring  and  com- 
prehensive, and  their  realization  would  have  made  her  the 
foremost  power  in  the  New  World.  Her  colonial  policy,  as 
it  finally  took  definite  form,  contemplated  the  settlement  of 
the  valleys  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi,  and 
their  connection  by  a  line  of  forts  passing  up  each  to  the 
height  of  land  between  them.  With  more  than  half  the  cul- 
tivable soil  of  North  America  and  the  two  most  important 
systems  of  inland  navigation  in  her  possession,  and  with 
outlets  upon  the  sea  in  widely  separated  directions,  she 
would  control  the  future  destiny  of  the  continent,  confining 


72  COLONIAL    BEGINNINGS. 

the  British  to  the  narrow  Atlantic  slope  on  the  east,  and  the 
Spanish  to  the  steppes  and  Cordilleras  of  the  southwest.  In 
other  directions,  the  imagination  could  set  no  bounds  to 
this  magnificent  empire,  unless  it  were  the  unknown  shores 
of  the  almost  unknown  Pacific. 

It  was  indeed  an  imperial  dream,  but  one  destined  never 
to  be  realized;  and  in  strange  contrast  with  the  vastness 
of  her  designs,  France  proved  to  be  the  first  of  the  three 
powers  to  retire  permanently  from  the  continent.  The 
fruit  of  her  labors  was  to  be  garnered  in  distant  years  by 
a  nation  whose  very  birth  was  an  event  still  buried  in  the 
mists  of  futurity. 

Spain  had  been  the  pioneer  in  the  discovery  and  acquisi- 
tion of  territory  in  America.  Columbus  crossed  the  Atlan- 
tic in  1492.  The  conquest  of  Mexico  was  finished  in  1521, 
and  St.  Augustine  was  founded  in  1565.  Following  Spain, 
the  French  made  their  first  permanent  settlement  at  Port 
Royal,  where  now  is  Annapolis,  Nova  Scotia,  in  1605. 
Two  years  later  the  English  founded  their  first  colony  at 
Jamestown,  and  in  the  following  year  the  French  laid  the 
foundations  of  Quebec.  In  1620  the  Pilgrims  landed  at 
Plymouth  Rock.  This  was  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
years  after  the  discovery  of  America  —  so  slow  were  the 
European  powers  in  following  up  the  consequences  of  that 
great  achievement.  At  this  time  the  general  line  of  advance 
of  the  three  powers  had  taken  definite  form,  and  New 
France,  or  Canada,  New  Spain  and  Florida,  New  England, 
and  Virginia,  became  the  respective  bases  of  operations  in 
their  struggle  for  the  dominion  of  America. 

Many  years  elapsed  before  any  new  and  marked  advance 
from  these  primary  bases  was  accomplished,  although  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  each  there  were  continuous  develop- 
ment and  expansion.  Not  until  1673  did  any  of  the  three 
powers  attempt  to  learn  what  lay  within  the  vast  interior  of 
the  continent.^     The  first  important  movement  in  that  direc- 

'  A  qualification  of  this  statement  ought  to  be  made  in  favor  of  the 
Spanish  under  Hernando  de  Soto.     That  brilliant  and  knightly  adven- 


DISCOVERY    OF    THE    MISSISSIPPI.  73 

tion  came  from  Canada.  The  French  traders  among  the 
Indians  had  heard  the  natives  tell  of  a  great  river  farther 
to  the  westward  which  flowed  neither  north  nor  west,  and 
which  they  rightly  conjectured  must  flow  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  Talon,  the  first  intendant  of  New  France,  being 
about  to  visit  his  native  land,  determined  to  ascertain  the 
truth  of  this  rumor  before  he  went.  He  dispatched  two 
trusty  men,  Marquette,  a  Jesuit  priest,  and  Joliet,  a  trader, 
to  explore  the  region  in  question.  On  the  i6th  day  of 
June,  1673,  they  saw  the  Mississippi  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Wisconsin  river.  Thence  they  floated  down  the  great 
stream,  noting  its  important  tributaries,  until  they  arrived  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Arkansas.  Having  gone  far  enough  to 
remove  all  doubt  that  the  river  emptied  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  they  returned,  the  priest  to  his  mission  on  the  lakes 
and  the  trader  to  Quebec. 

Next  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  so  far  as  any  settled 
purpose  of  discovery  is  concerned,  was  Robert  Cavalier  de  La 
Salle,  whose  heroic  work  in  this  new  field  of  adventure  has 
brought  to  its  author  imperishable  fame.  To  him  must  be 
accredited  the  great  conception  of  joining  the  valleys  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi  with  a  line  of  settlements 
and  of  establishing  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of  the  latter 
stream.  His  far-sighted  vision  even  foresaw  the  time  when 
this  inland  empire  would  extend  to  the  Pacific  and  draw 
within  its  pale  the  commerce  of  oriental  kingdoms.  His 
work  in  carrying  out  this  project  covered  ten  years  of  his 
life,  from  1677  to  1687,  during  which  time  he  succeeded  in 
traversing  and  exploring,  either  in  person  or  through  his  col- 
leagues, nearly  the  entire  length  of  the  Mississippi  river. 
He  built  and  garrisoned  several  forts  along  the  route,  and 
on  the  7th  of  April,   1682,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Missis- 

turer  came  upon  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  near  Chickasaw  Bluffs, 
May  26,  1540,  and  two  years  later  was  buried  beneath  its  waters.  But 
his  great  discovery  led  to  no  marked  results.  Spain  did  not  follow  it 
up  with  any  act  of  formal  possession,  and  the  country  remained  un- 
claimed and  unknown  for  over  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  thereafter. 


74  COUNTRY    NAMED    LOUISIANA. 

sippi,  took  formal  possession,  in  the  name  of  the  King  of 
France,  of  the  country  drained  by  that  stream  and  its  trib- 
utaries, and  gave  it  the  name  of  Louisiana. 

Returning  to  France,  he  came  back  to  America  by  way  of 
the  Gulf  in  1684,  prepared  to  found  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river.  The  way  was  lost,  however,  and  the  vessels 
passed  on  to  the  distant  shores  of  what  is  now  Texas. 
There  a  series  of  misfortunes  overtook  the  enterprise  which 
finally  left  La  Salle  with  but  a  small  party  and  not  a  ship  of 
the  several  that  came  with  him.  In  this  distress  he  resolved 
to  strike  across  the  country  to  the  northeast  and  reach  his 
posts  among  the  Illinois.  After  proceeding  a  considerable 
distance  into  the  interior  he  was  basely  murdered  by  one  of 
his  own  party,  and  a  life  which  the  most  gigantic  obstacles 
could  not  dismay,  was  cut  short  by  the  stealthy  hand  of 
treachery. 

La  Salle's  attempts  to  found  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  were  not  resumed  until  a  decade  after  his  death, 
probably  on  account  of  the  wars  that  were  being  waged  be- 
tween France  and  England.  But  in  1698  a  squadron  was 
sent  over  for  this  purpose  under  the  direction  of  Iberville 
and  his  brothers,  Bienville  and  Sauvolle,  members  of  a  very 
noted  family  in  the  naval  history  of  France,  and  themselves 
greatly  distinguished  in  their  country's  service.  Iberville 
entered  the  Mississippi  in  a  barge,  March  i,  1699,  probably 
the  first  European  craft  to  enter  that  stream  from  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  on  the  ist  of  May  of  that  year  a  settlement 
was  made  on  the  Bay  of  Biloxi.  Although  it  was  yet  eight- 
een years  before  the  site  of  New  Orleans  was  selected,  and 
twenty-two  before  it  was  actually  occupied  by  the  colonial 
government,  the  foundation  of  the  lower  Louisiana  colony 
nevertheless  dates  from  the  last  year  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. 

It  may  be  considered  as  from  about  this  time  that  the 
colonies  of  the  new  world  began  to  be  subjects  of  zealous 
rivalry  on  the  part  of  the  mother  countries.  It  is  true  that 
before  this  they  had  been  the  scene  of  strife  which  originated 


RIVALRY    OF    THE    POWERS.  75 

across  the  sea.  Campaigns  had  been  fought  in  Canada  and 
in  Florida.  Pensacola  had  been  lost  and  won.  England 
had  once  wrested  all  of  Canada  from  France.  But  in  gen- 
eral upon  the  arrival  of  peace  the  new  world  conquests  were 
all  restored,  the  only  considerable  exception  being  that  of 
Acadia,  which  was  ceded  to  England  in  171 3.  The  colo- 
nies had  not  yet  acquired  that  importance  which  gave  them 
much  weight  in  European  councils,  and  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  future  destiny  of  America  was  in  any  adequate 
sense  appreciated  by  European  statesmen  of  the  time. 

But  the  eighteenth  century  was  not  far  advanced  when  it 
became  evident  that  the  ever-expanding  colonial  frontiers 
were  soon  to  involve  the  mother  countries  in  a  final  struggle 
for  supremacy  upon  the  American  continent.  With  jealous 
eyes  the  three  great  powers  watched  each  other.  The  dar- 
ing schemes  of  France  in  particular  excited  great  concern  on 
the  part  of  her  two  rivals,  for  her  position,  if  maintained, 
could  not  but  give  her  a  commanding  influence  on  the  con- 
tinent. England's  possessions  were  not  contiguous,  for 
there  was  no  connection  between  the  colonies  of  the  coast 
and  the  territory  around  Hudson  Bay.  The  colonies 
of  Spain  were  likewise  separated,  for  Louisiana  lay  be- 
tween Florida  and  New  Spain.  But  Canada  and  Louis- 
iana formed  one  continuous  possession  to  the  future  expan- 
sion of  which  there  seemed  to  be  no  limit  but  the  ocean. 

Spain  henceforth  regarded  the  advance  of  her  rival  with 
a  distrustful  eye,  and  attempts  of  the  French  to  open  a 
commerce  with  Mexico,  either  by  way  of  the  Gulf  or  over- 
land through  Texas,  were  met  with  absolute  refusal.  Both 
nations  made  military  advances.  Spain  sent  an  armed 
expedition  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  Missouri,  but  it  was 
defeated  and  destroyed  by  the  Indians.  She  advanced  her 
missions  well  into  the  interior  and  supported  them  by  mili- 
tary garrisons.  In  1722  the  French  built  the  advanced 
post  of  Orleans  well  up  the  Missouri  river,  and  they  like- 
wise established  posts  on  the  Red  and  Arkansas  rivers.^ 

"  See  "  Fort  Orleans,"  list  of  posts,  Appendix  F. 


76  FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR. 

The  vicissitudes  of  European  politics,  it  is  true,  often  threw 
France  and  Spain  for  a  time  together  in  common  cause,  but 
never  to  such  an  extent  as  to  remove  the  distrust  with  which 
each  regarded  the  advance  of  the  other  into  the  unsettled 
territories  between  their  American  colonies. 

In  the  fast  approaching  struggle  for  supremacy,  which 
clearly  could  not  long  be  averted,  there  was  a  great  advan- 
tage on  the  side  of  England,  arising  from  her  more  liberal 
colonial  policy.  Largely  left  to  care  for  themselves,  the 
settlements  on  the  Atlantic  coast  expanded  with  a  rapidity 
which  formed  a  marked  contrast  to  the  slow  and  sickly 
growth  of  the  French  and  Spanish  colonies;  for  the  policy 
of  these  two  nations  was  to  regulate  colonial  affairs  entirely 
from  home;  to  impose  restrictions  in  trade,  industry,  and 
religion;  to  recruit  the  colonies  from  jails  and  houses  of 
correction,  and  to  grant  their  trade  and  commerce  to  indi- 
viduals or  companies.  The  blindness  of  certain  govern- 
ments in  this  respect  is  proverbial,  and  the  experience  of 
four  hundred  years  has  even  yet  failed  to  awaken  the 
government  of  Spain  to  the  true  cause  of  her  many  colonial 
failures. 

The  various  grants  of  land  by  Great  Britain  in  North 
America,  with  their  absurd  western  extensions,  in  some 
instances  reaching  to  the  Pacific,  carried  in  themselves  the 
seeds  of  future  discord  along  the  colonial  frontiers.  It 
was  her  advance  into  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  or  its 
principal  tributary,  the  Ohio,  that  precipitated  the  final 
conflict.  Those  stirring  times  of  1753  and  1754,  in  which 
the  personality  of  George  Washington  was  ushered  upon 
the  stage  of  history,  are  familiar  to  everyone.  The 
French  and  Indian  War  was,  in  its  far-reaching  conse- 
quences, the  most  important  ever  waged  upon  the  soil  of 
America,  excepting  possibly  the  late  Civil  War  in  the  United 
States.  Accustomed  as  Americans  are  to  look  upon  the 
Revolutionary  War  as  the  fundamental  fact  about  which 
their  national  destiny  turns,  they  seldom  pause  to  inquire 
what  that  Revolution  would  have  amounted  to,  but  for  the 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  J'J 

results  of  the  war  that  preceded  it.  The  contest  which  gave 
this  country  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  instead  of  to  the  Latin 
race,  was  one  that  assured  the  greatness  of  its  future 
destiny.  It  was  terminated  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  Febru- 
ary lo,  1763,  by  which  France  ceded  to  Great  Britain 
Canada  and  all  of  Louisiana  east  of  the  Mississippi,  except- 
ing New  Orleans  and  its  island.  Three  months  before  this 
time  the  French  King  had  given  to  Spain  all  of  his  Amer- 
ican possessions  not  included  in  the  pending  treaty  with 
England.  Thus  that  nation,  which  at  one  time  possessed 
the  cream  of  the  continent,  was  now  left  without  a  foot  of  its 
territory ;  and  the  two  rivals  between  whom  her  possessions 
were  divided  confronted  each  other  from  opposite  shores  of 
the  Mississippi. 

And  now  comes  another  turn  of  the  wheel  of  political 
fortune  second  in  importance  only  to  the  results  of  the 
French  and  Indian  War.  Great  Britain,  in  a  moment  of 
ill-advisement,  abandoned  the  liberal  policy  which  had  so 
far  made  her  colonies  flourish  altogether  more  prosperously 
than  those  of  her  rivals,  and  undertook  to  put  into  effect 
those  restrictions  and  regulations  which  have  been  a  blight 
to  the  growth  of  every  colony  where  they  have  prevailed. 
Unfortunately  for  her,  this  attempt  came  too  late  in  the 
process  of  colonial  development  to  meet  with  anything  else 
than  stubborn  resistance.  Angered  at  this  the  mother  coun- 
try undertook  to  compel  obedience  by  force.  The  world 
knows  the  result.  A  successful  revolution  ensued  in  which 
Great  Britain  lost  all  of  her  original  colonies  in  America 
and  all  her  conquests  except  Canada.  In  their  place  arose 
an  independent  nation  destined  to  play  a  brilliant  role  in 
the  future  history  of  mankind. 

The  Mississippi  had  now  become  the  frontier  between  the 
most  conservative  and  bigoted  of  monarchies,  and  the 
youngest  and  most  liberal  of  republics.  It  was  not  a  change 
which  Spain  could  view  with  satisfaction.  The  youthful 
blood  and  vigor  of  a  new  nation,  established  upon  the  very 
soil  which  before  was  only  a  colonial  dependency,  boded  no 


78  NAPOLEON    BONAPARTE. 

good  to  the  existing  status  of  the  Spanish  upon  the  Missis- 
sippi. It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  Spain  should  view 
the  expansion  of  the  population  of  the  United  States  to 
the  westward  with  feelings  of  apprehension  and  alarm. 
She  sought  by  every  possible  means  to  obstruct  it.  She 
strove  to  detach  the  western  country  from  the  Union  and 
incorporate  it  in  her  territories,  so  that  the  Mississippi  and 
its  tributaries  might  be  under  her  own  control.  At  one 
time  there  was  a  ray  of  hope  in  these  designs,  but  as  the  new 
government  became  better  established,  as  the  Indians  came 
to  fear  and  respect  it,  and  particularly  when  states  west  of 
the  Alleghenies  were  admitted  into  the  Union,  these  delusive 
prospects  vanished  forever. 

It  would  be  amusing,  were  it  not  an  event  of  such  pro- 
found importance,  to  note  how  suddenly  the  vast  territory 
which  Spain  had  received  from  France  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  youthful  rival  whom  she  was  watching  with  such 
suspicious  dread.  Napoleon  Bonaparte  had  appeared  upon 
the  stage  of  history.  Under  his  irresistible  sway  the  muta- 
tions of  fortune  among  European  nations  went  on  with 
terrific  rapidity.  Spain  fell  into  his  hands,  and  among  the 
t&tvns,  of  peace  wrung  from  her  was  the  cession  of  Louisiana, 
"  ^o^ich  was  accomplished  by  the  secret  treaty  of  Saint  Ilde- 
/fpi!so,  March  21,  1801. 
A'^  To  the  United  States  the  right  of  the  free  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi  was  a  matter  of  such  overshadowing  im- 
portance that  her  statesmen  had  ever  been  alert  and  watchful 
for  any  opportunity  which  might  establish  it  more  perfectly. 
They  were  not  slow  to  discern,  in  the  rapid  changes  at  the 
time  passing  over  Europe,  that  the  occasion  might  arise 
which  would  hasten  or  retard,  as  the  event  might  turn,  this 
primary  object  of  their  desires.  The  cession  of  Louisiana 
to  France,  as  rumors  of  that  event  began  to  circulate,  was 
rightly  viewed  with  grave  apprehension.  Might  not  that 
genius,  which  had  overridden  and  reduced  to  his  own  will  the 
venerable  monarchies  of  Europe,  turn  his  attention  to  the 
New  World  and  attempt  the  conquest  of  that  also?     Would 


THE    LOUISIANA    PURCHASE.  79 

he  be  satisfied  with  restoring  France  to  her  own,  or  would 
he  seek  to  embrace  within  his  western  empire  the  whole  of 
North  America?  The  boundless  ambition  of  Napoleon  no 
doubt  reached  so  far.  But  the  reality  was  not  to  be,  and  it 
is  another  proof  of  his  unerring  judgment  that  he  was 
among  the  first  to  realize  the  impracticability  of  his 
schemes  of  empire  in  America.  England  controlled  the 
seas,  and  the  defense  of  Louisiana  against  such  a  power  was 
impossible.  He  saw  that  in  case  of  war  with  Great  Britain, 
he  would  not  only  lose  Louisiana,  but  lose  it  to  the  very 
power  which  he  most  desired  to  impoverish  and  humiliate. 
This  contingency  did  in  fact  arise,  and  Napoleon  took 
prompt  measures  to  forestall  its  inevitable  consequences  and 
to  thwart  forever  the  ambition  of  England  in  this  direction.  / 
He  sold  Louisiana  to  the  United  States  on  the  30th  o^ 
April,  1803. 

The  announcement  of  the  re-cession  of  Louisiana  to 
France  had  hardly  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  become  known 
upon  the  Mississippi,  when  that  of  its  sale  to  the  United 
States  arrived.  It  was  at  once  apparent  that  this  was  the 
finale  to  the  fitful  changes  in  the  past  career  of  the  colony. 
The  new  order  of  things  was  by  no  means  generally  accept- 
able to  the  foreign  element  of  the  population,  either  Spanish 
or  French.  They  saw  in  it  the  death  knell  of  their  peculiar 
customs  and  laws,  and  they  knew  that  the  enterprising  spirit 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  would  crowd  them  out  of  the 
avenues  of  industry  and  commerce  even  on  the  very  soil 
where  they  had  lived  and  toiled  from  infancy.  But  on  the 
other  hand  the  more  discerning  felt  that  it  was  at  least  a 
prospect  of  permanency  in  place  of  change,  of  self-govern- 
ment in  place  of  the  capricious  rule  of  distant  princes,  of 
freedom  in  religion,  industry,  and  commerce,  in  place  of 
baneful  restrictions  and  regulations.  The  transfer  was 
made  without  serious  disturbance;  the  current  of  affairs 
soon  began  to  run  smoothly,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the 
most  ardent  lover  of  his  parent  country,  whether  France  or 
Spain,  ceased  to  regret  the  change. 


8o  COLLAPSE    OF    SPANISH    COLONIAL    SYSTEM. 

Although  digressing  beyond  the  Hmits  assigned  to  this 
work,  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  refer  to  those  subsequent  events 
in  the  colonial  history  of  Spain  which  show  how  well 
founded  was  her  jealousy  of  the  growing  power  of  the 
United  States.  It  was  in  1804  that  the  transfer  of  Louis- 
iana was  consummated.  Fifteen  years  later  came  the 
cession  of  Florida.  In  the  course  of  the  next  twenty  years 
successful  revolution  had  extinguished  Spanish  sovereignty 
upon  the  continent  of  America,  and  before  the  nineteenth 
century  had  finished  half  its  course  the  major  part  of  the 
vast  colony  of  New  Spain  had  entered  the  expanding  fold 
of  the  Republic  of  States. 

But  the  downward  career  of  Spanish  empire  had  not  yet 
run  its  disastrous  course.  In  the  providence  of  history  the 
United  States  has  been  the  instrument  of  retributive  justice 
in  punishing  Spain  for  the  accumulated  wrong  of  centuries 
of  colonial  misrule.  It  was  a  fitting  climax  to  the  progress 
of  Anglo-Saxon  liberty  throughout  the  world  during  the 
nineteenth  century  that  it  should  fall  to  the  lot  of  the 
American  Republic,  before  the  century  was  complete,  to 
sweep  away  forever  the  last  vestige  of  Spanish  sovereignty 
in  the  Western  World :  nay,  further,  to  supplant  it  in  the 
distant  Orient,  until  that  once  powerful  nation,  which  dis- 
covered America  and  planted  its  flag  in  every  clime,  is  left 
with  only  a  few  scattering  islands,  the  pitiful  remnants  of 
world-wide  colonial  dominion. 

President  Jefferson,  to  whose  administration  belongs  the 
credit  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  lost  no  time  in  acquainting 
himself  with  the  nature  and  extent  of  his  new  acquisition. 
The  formal  surrender  of  Lower  Louisiana  to  the  United 
States  took  place  at  New  Orleans  December  20,  1803. 
During  the  following  winter,  explorations  were  made  by 
direction  of  the  government  along  the  Red  and  Washita 
rivers.  An  expedition  was  organized  in  the  fall  of  1803  to 
ascend  the  Missouri  and  cross  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  but  as 
possession  of  Upper  Louisiana  had  not  yet  been  given  up, 
it  was  delayed  until  the  following  spring.     On  the  loth  of 


LEWIS    AND    CLARK    EXPEDITION.  OI 

March,  1804,  at  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  formal  surrender  of 
Upper  Louisiana  was  made  to  the  United  States,  thus  ful- 
filling the  terms  of  the  treaty  with  France.  On  the  14th  of 
May,  Lewis  and  Clark  set  out  on  their  long  and  perilous 
expedition.  This  celebrated  performance  stands  as  incom- 
parably the  most  perfect  achievement  of  its  kind  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  The  expedition  reached  the  Pacific 
ocean,  November  16,  1805,  set  out  on  the  return  journey 
March  2t^,  1806,  and  arrived  in  St.  Louis  September  23, 
1806.  The  journey  was  accomplished  with  the  loss  of  only 
one  man,  who  died  from  causes  apparently  in  no  way  con- 
nected with  the  expedition.^  The  information  gathered 
was  so  exhaustive  and  correct  that  Lezvis  and  Clark  con- 
tinued to  be  the  standard  authority  on  the  region  traversed 
by  the  expedition  for  fully  forty  years  thereafter. 

In  the  meantime  Lieutenant  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike 
had  ascended  the  Mississippi  river  from  St.  Louis  to  its 
source,  acquainting  the  Indians  and  traders  in  that  section 
with  the  change  of  ownership  of  Louisiana.  After  his 
return  to  St.  Louis  he  set  out  in  1806  to  explore  the  country 
to  the  southwest  as  far  as  to  the  Spanish  frontier  in  the 
direction  of  Santa  Fe.  He  passed  westward  through  what 
are  now  Missouri,  Kansas,  and  Colorado  until  he  reached 
the  mountains,  and  then  turned  south  into  Spanish  territory, 
where  he  was  arrested  by  the  authorities  of  that  ever 
jealous  and  suspicious  government.  After  much  delay  he 
was  released,  and  he  returned  to  the  United  States  in  July, 
1807. 

These  important  explorations  bring  this  preliminary 
sketch  down  to  the  period  covered  by  the  present  work. 

'  Sergeant  Charles  Floyd,  who  died  near  the  present  site  of  Sioux 
City,  August  20,  1804.  Nearly  a  century  after  his  death,  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  aided  by  the  State  of  Iowa,  erected  a  suit- 
able monument  over  the  grave  of  the  first  soldier  of  the  United  States 
who  died  west  of  the  Mississippi  river.  This  monument  is  a  solid  ma- 
sonry obelisk  one  hundred  feet  high,  and  was  dedicated  May  30,  1901. 
It  was  designed  and  erected  under  the  supervision  of  the  author  of  this 
work. 


82  ADVENT    OF    THE    TRADER. 

Louisiana  was  now  national  territory.  Official  explora- 
tions had  been  made  in  all  directions,  and  the  acts  of  formal 
possession  were  at  an  end.  Some  forty  years,  however, 
were  yet  to  elapse  before  this  vast  territory  was  to  engage 
the  serious  attention  of  the  world.  In  the  meanwhile,  it 
was  given  over  to  the  trader  and  trapper,  the  hunter  and 
adventurer,  the  traveler  and  the  missionary.  In  desultory 
fashion  it  was  explored  in  all  directions,  and  lines  of  travel 
gradually  developed.  Slowly  but  surely  emigration  began 
to  seek  those  remote  regions,  and  by  1843  it  had  set  heavily 
in  that  direction.  Then  followed  in  startling  rapidity  those 
events  which  in  less  than  seven  years  made  this  country 
well  known  throughout  the  world,  and  transformed  the 
great  West  into  a  theatre  of  commercial  and  industrial 
activity. 

It  is  of  the  fragments  of  history  that  fill  up  this  formative 
period  of  less  than  two  score  years  that  we  purpose  here  to 
treat ;  to  recover  as  far  as  possible  those  obscure  beginnings 
in  the  founding  of  a  great  empire  which  the  historian  has 
neglected  for  the  more  alluring  themes  connected  with  the 
building  of  the  superstructure. 


CHAPTER  II. 

RISE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FUR  TRADE. 

Importance  of  the  fur  trade  in  American  history  —  France  the  pioneer 
in  the  fur  trade  —  Spanish  fur  trade  —  Great  Britain  and  the  fur  trade 
—  Rise  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  —  Rise  of  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany —  Rivalry  between  the  two  companies  —  Amalgamation  of  the  two 
companies  —  Business  methods  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  —  The 
Mackinaw  Company  —  Spanish  fur  companies  —  Tardy  development  of 
an  American  fur  trade  —  Trade  of  the  Northwest  coast  —  State  of 
American  fur  trade  in  1807. 

'HE  fur  trade  is  indissolubly  connected  with  the  history 
of  North  America.  For  more  than  two  centuries  it 
was  the  principal  business,  and  often  the  only  one,  transacted 
upon  the  frontiers.  The  visionary  dreams  of  the  early 
explorers,  that  the  new  world  abounded  in  precious  metals 
awaiting  only  their  arrival  to  be  gathered  in  inexhaustible 
quantities,  led  the  first  adventurers  upon  this  coast  to  seek 
the  wealth  of  the  mine  rather  than  that  of  the  forest.  The 
Spanish  were  slow  to  abandon  this  alluring  motive  of  dis- 
covery and  conquest,  and  the  treasures  which  they  had 
been  able  to  wrest  from  the  more  civilized  races  of  the 
continent  served  to  keep  alive  their  zeal  in  this  direction  long 
after  any  real  reason  for  its  existence  had  disappeared. 
But  at  a  very  early  day  the  French  and  English  turned  their 
attention,  in  their  New  World  projects,  to  more  substantial, 
if  less  attractive,  fields  of  enterprise.  North  America, 
above  those  latitudes  where  a  semi-tropical  climate  prevails, 
was,  at  the  time  of  its  discovery,  the  richest  and  most 
extensive  field  for  collecting  fine  furs  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth.  The  conditions  encountered  here  seemed  to  have 
been  especially  prepared  by  nature  to  facilitate  the  exploita- 
tion of  this  particular  species  of  wealth.     The  continent 


84  VALLEY    OF    THE    ST.    LAV/RENCE. 

V 

was  thinly  populated  with  a  wild  race  of  men  who  dwelt  in 
the  wilderness  and  passed  their  lives  in  common  neighbor- 
hood with  the  native  fauna.  Although  the  fur-bearing  ani- 
mals supplied  the  Indian  with  food,  clothing,  and  shelter, 
still  his  numbers  were  not  sufficient  to  prevent  their  increase, 
and  both  man  and  beast  dwelt  and  bred  their  species  on  a 
common  ground.  The  stranger  came  from  across  the 
ocean,  introducing  new  wants  to  the  Indian,  which  the  latter 
was  able  to  gratify  by  giving  the  native  furs  in  exchange  for 
the  white  man's  goods.  The  shrewd  trader  was  thus 
enabled,  at  trifling  cost  to  himself,  to  put  an  army  of  these 
native  fur  gatherers  into  the  field,  and  the  product  obtained 
in  this  way  he  retailed  in  Europe  at  an  enormous  profit. 
Fortune  seekers  both  in  France  and  England  were  quick  to 
grasp  the  importance  of  this  new  mine  of  wealth,  and  indi- 
viduals or  companies  in  both  countries  petitioned  their  gov- 
ernments for  exclusive  privileges  in  its  development.  Royal 
J  grants  for  this  purpose  thus  came  to  be  a  prominent  feature 
of  American  colonial  history. 

The  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  became  the  first,  and 
remained  the  principal,  field  of  this  business,  with  Montreal 
as  its  chief  emporium.  Nature  had  fitted  this  valley  as  the 
great  commercial  highway  of  the  fur  trade.  Through  an 
unknown  and  unexplored  wilderness,  where  no  overland 
route  existed,  a  chain  of  lakes  and  a  net  work  of  rivers  gave 
easy  access  to  almost  every  portion.  Low  portages  con- 
nected the  lakes  on  the  south  and  west  with  the  Mississippi 
valley,  whence  the  Missouri  opened  a  way  to  the  distant 
mountains.  To  the  north  the  transfer  was  easy  to  another 
system  of  waterways  connected  with  Hudson  Bay  and  the 
rivers  that  flowed  from  the  limitless  expanse  of  the  north- 
west, beyond  which,  by  somewhat  difficult  portages,  lay  the 
great  rivers  of  the  Pacific  coast.  The  St.  Lawrence  valley 
was  thus  the  natural  highway  for  the  peculiar  trade  of  the 
wilderness,  and  for  two  hundred  years  it  was  the  scene  of  a 
traffic  unparalleled  for  romantic  interest  in  the  history  of 
commerce. 


HUDSON    BAY    COMPANY    INCORPORATED.  87 

ment  gave  to  other  parties  the  exclusive  right  of  trade  in 
these  regions,  and  Groseilliers  saw  his  well-laid  schemes 
destroyed  in  their  very  beginning.  Disappointed,  he 
returned  to  France  and  sought  redress  from  his  government 
for  what  he  considered  an  injustice  to  himself  and  his  asso- 
ciate. Failing  in  this  he  addressed  himself  successfully  to 
the  English  court.  Under  the  patronage  of  JEmice_JR.upert 
he  was  outfitted  with  a  vessel  and  cargo,  and  in  1668  sailed 
for  Hudson  Bay.  Well  nigh  at  the  southeastern  extremity 
of  the  bay  he  built  the  first  post  ever  erected  on  its  shores 
and  named  it  Fort  Charles  for  the  English  king. 

This  success  led  to  the  formation  of  the  famous  monopoly 
officially  known  as  The  Governor  and  Company  of  Adven- 
turers of  England,  trading  into  Hudson  Bay,  but  known  in 
common  parlance  as  the  I^udsQiuBa^c-CQIlipany.  The  date 
of  the  charter  was  May  2,  1670.  The  privileges  granted  ^>C 
were  such  as  no  other  company  ever  enjoyed.  Over  a  "-^"^^ 
region  of  unknown  extent  it  was  given  absolute  proprietor- 
ship, supreme  jurisdiction  in  civil  and  military  affairs,  the 
power  to  make  laws,  and  to  declare  war  against  pagan  peo- 
ples, and  in  fact  nearly  all  the  attributes  of  a  sovereign  and 
independent  government. 

This  monopoly  did  not  enjoy  throughout  its  career  a 
smooth  and  prosperous  existence.  In  its  earlier  years  it 
received  repeated  checks  from  the  French,  who  claimed  the 
territory  included  in  its  charter  —  a  claim  that  was  subse- 
quently on  one  occasion  recognized  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment. The  French  made  several  expeditions  both  by  sea  and 
land  against  the  company's  establishments.  They  were  gen- 
erally successful,  and  the  forts  were  at  one  time  all  captured 
and  some  of  them  destroyed.  The  operations  in  these 
waters,  in  which  the  brothers  dTberville,  founders  of  the 
Louisiana  colony,  greatly  distinguished  themselves,  were 
almost  uniformly  favorable  to  France  and  highly  creditable 
to  her  navy.  But  the  fur  company  did  not  succumb  to  these 
reverses  and  kept  right  on  with  its  operations.  Later  events 
turned  the  tide  in  its  favor.     The  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  171 3, 


88  NORTHWEST    COMPANY    OF    MONTREAL. 

greatly  curtailed  the  rights  of  France  as  recognized  in  the 
Treaty  of  Ryswick,  1697,  while  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  1763, 
abrogated  them  altogether,  and  left  England  undisputed 
sovereign  of  North  America  except  to  the  west  and  south- 
west of  the  Mississippi,  and  on  the  Pacific  coast. 

Thus  the  rising  monopoly  was  for  a  time  relieved  of  its 
troublesome  interlopers,  and  enjoyed  the  uninterrupted 
exercise  of  its  trade.  It  did  not  pursue  an  aggressive  com- 
mercial policy.  It  did  not  seek  a  rapid  extension  of  the 
field  of  its  operations,  and  it  built  but  few  posts.  It  sought 
to  secure  its  furs  by  trade  with  the  Indians  rather  than  by  its 
own  hunters,  for  it  would  thus  more  surely  protect  the  fur- 
bearing  animals  from  extinction.  This  prudent  manage- 
ment was  very  profitable.  The  stock  rose  greatly  in  value. 
Admission  to  the  company  was  difficult,  and  the  managers 
sought  to  conceal  all  knowledge  of  the  country,  or  at  least 
to  depreciate  its  importance,  in  order  not  to  arouse  inquiry 
or  induce  pressure  for  a  share  in  its  privileges.  Had  there 
been  a  well-defined  boundary  of  its  territories  so  that  it  could 
have  excluded  with  certainty  all  intruders,  there  is  no  tell- 
ing how  long  this  quiet  prosperity  might  have  gone  on 
undisturbed.  But  to  the  west  and  southwest  there  was 
nothing  definite  as  to  boundaries,  and  a  rival  presently  arose 
which  was  only  too  ready  to  take  advantage  of  this  impor- 
tant fact. 

This  rival  was  the  Northwest  Company  of  Montreal. 
It  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  old  French  trade  in  the  region 
of  the  upper  lakes  and  beyond.  As  that  trade  began  to 
rally  from  the  destructive  effects  of  the  French  and  Indian 
War,  it  fell  principally  into  the  hands  of  a  few  Scotchmen, 
leading  merchants  of  Montreal,  who  for  several  years  acted 
in  the  main  independently  of  each  other.  The  trade  began 
to  revive  about  1 766,  and  by  1 780  had  regained  a  large  part 
of  its  former  vigor.  But  the  evil  effects  of  individual  com- 
petition, and  the  loss  of  profits  due  to  the  smallpox 
scourge  of  1 782,  induced  the  leading  traders  to  enter  into  an 
association  for  the  common  pursuit  of  the  business.     This 


MACKENZIE    AND    THOMPSON.  89 

took  place  in  the  winter  of  1783-4,  and  the  new  company 
was  styled  the  Northwest  Company  of  Montreal. 

At  this  time  the  traders  had  already  established  their 
great  emporium  upon  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Superior, 
where  their  business  was  conducted  with  the  remote  and 
vast  interior.  This  was  the  Grand  Portage,  which  was 
connected  by  a  road  about  ten  miles  long  with  the  water 
courses  above  the  falls  of  Pigeon  river,  whence  a  water 
route  led  all  the  way  to  the  very  base  of  the  mountains. 

The  new  company,  like  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  had 
rough  sailing  in  the  earlier  years  of  its  existence.  Not  all 
of  the  Montreal  traders  were  satisfied  with  the  new  arrange- 
ment. A  rival  association  was  organized  under  the  name 
of  Pond,  Pangman  and  Company,  including  Alexander 
Mackenzie,  who  later  became  famous  through  his  explora- 
tions. Pond  soon  deserted  to  the  older  company,  and  was 
largely  responsible  for  a  tragedy  which  grew  out  of 
the  rivalry  between  the  two  concerns.  This  was  the  killing 
of  John  Ross,  a  trader  of  the  smaller  company.  So 
alarmed  were  the  parties  on  both  sides  at  the  possible  con- 
sequences of  this  event,  that  a  union  of  the  two  factions  was 
formed  in  1787,  from  which  date  the  full  career  of  the 
Northwest  Company  may  be  said  to  have  begun. 

The  operations  of  the  company  from  this  time  on  were 
conducted  on  a  truly  imperial  scale.  One  of  the  partners, 
Alexander  Mackenzie,  began  a  series  of  explorations  of  the 
i^northwest,  which,  in  1793,  carried  him  to  the  Pacific  ocean. 
Another  far-reaching  movement  was  the  engagement,  as 
astronomer  and  surveyor  for  the  company,  of  David 
Thompson,  who  had  lately  left  the  service  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company.  He  was  directed  to  survey  the  49th  parallel, 
which  formed  the  international  boundary  west  of  Rainy 
Lake,  to  explore  the  country  along  that  line,  and  to  find  suit- 
able locations  for  the  company's  posts  as  its  operations 
should  extend  farther  to  the  westward.  Thompson's  work 
carried  him  to  the  Missouri  river  at  the  Mandans,  and  later 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.     It  had  an  influence  on 


99 


THE    XY    COMPANY, 


/ 


national  affairs  quite  beyond  its  importance  in  the  business 
of  the  company. 

Meanwhile  the  regular  trading  operations  of  the  com- 
pany were  pushed  with  aggressive  vigor  in  all  directions. 
After  eight  years  of  uninterrupted  progress,  further  dissen- 
sion arose  in  the  company  councils  resulting  in  a  separation. 
The  seceding  partners  were  led  by  Alexander  Mackenzie, 
and  the  old  company  by  Simon  McTavish.  Mackenzie 
went  to  England,  published  his  travels,  received  the  honor 
of  knighthood,  and  returning  to  Canada  in  1801,  was  instru- 
mental in  organizing  the  New  Northwest  Company,  or  as  it 
was  generally  known,  the  XY  Company.^  The  rivalry 
between  the  two  factions  went  on  with  vigor  until  the  death 
of  McTavish,  in  1804.  In  the  following  year  a  coalition 
was  formed  and  the  united  company  became  stronger  than 
ever. 

When  the  Northwest  Company  came  into  existence  its 
headquarters  were  at  Montreal,  and  its  principal  depot  at 
the  Grand  Portage.  The  operations  of  the  company  had 
extended  far  into  the  northwest,  between  the  Hudson  Bay 
territories  on  the  one  hand  and  Louisiana  on  the  other, 
and  embraced  considerable  territory  in  the  United  States. 
The  trade  had  been  carried  quite  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,  and  as  already  stated  one  of  the  traders  had 
crossed  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  being  the  first  white  man  to 
perform  this  feat  north  of  the  Spanish  possessions.  As  a 
result  of  surveys  it  was  found  that  the  depot  at  the  Grand 
Portage  was  on  United  States  territory,  and  a  new  post  was 
built  farther  north  and  named  Fort  William  in  honor  of 
William  McGillivray,  chief  agent  of  the  company  at  Mon- 
treal. It  was  at  Fort  William  that  the  agents  from 
Montreal  and  the  wintering  partners  from  the  interior 
assembled  each  summer  for  the  exchange  of  outfits  and  the 
determination  of  plans  for  the  ensuing  year. 

*The  use  of  these  letters  is  explained  by  a  recent  writer  as  being  en- 
tirely accidental  and  arising  from  the  fact  that  they  were  the  letters  of 
the  alphabet  which  immediately  followed  the  last  of  the  letters  N  W., 
the  initials  of  the  Northwest  Company. 


THE    SELKIRK    COLONY.  9I 

The  daring  enterprise  of  the  Northwest  Company,  and  the 
bold  extension  of  its  operations  regardless  of  the  territorial 
rights  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  forced  that  lethargic 
concern  into  active  resistance.  Inasmuch  as  we  are  here 
only  indirectly  concerned  with  the  operations  of  these  com- 
panies, it  may  be  permitted  to  step  a  few  years  ahead  of  our 
narrative  to  note  the  outcome  of  this  contest.  The  rivalry 
between  the  two  companies  knew  almost  no  bounds. 
Wherever  one  might  establish  a  post  the  other  would  plant 
one  beside  it  in  order  to  watch  its  operations  and  forestall 
any  advantage  of  position.  When  opportunity  occurred, 
forts  were  burned,  property  confiscated,  and  even  lives  sac- 
rificed, fo'r  the  criminal  and  civil  jurisdiction  of  Canada  did 
not  yet  reach  to  these  remote  regions,  and  there  was  no 
government  restraint  upon  acts  of  lawlessness. 

_£inally  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  took  a  radical  step  to 
annoy  and  harass  their  opponent.  In  the  year  1811  they 
granted  to  the  Earl  of  Selkirk  a  large  tract  of  land  in  the 
^ed  River  valley,  between  the  United  States  boundary  and 
Lake  Winnipeg,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  there  a  colony. 
The  Northwest  Company  resisted  by  the  most  energetic 
measured*  this  encroachment  upon  what  they  claimed  as 
their  rights.  The  new  settlement  extended  directly  athwart 
their  path  to  the  westward,  and  cut  their  territory  in  two. 
They  determined  that  it  should  not  be  made.  Lord  Selkirk, 
who  was  a  benevolent,  high-minded  and  able  man,  had 
embarked  his  private  fortune,  and  based  his  dearest  hopes, 
upon  the  upbuilding  of  this  colony,  and  he  was  in  no  sense 
disposed  to  yield.  The  brunt  of  the  struggle  fell  upon  the 
innocent  colonists,  and  the  stories  of  their  misfortunes  dur- 
ing the  ten  years  following  are  among  the  most  touching 
and  pathetic  in  the  history  of  North  American  settlement. 
The  struggle  at  length  reached  a  climax  in  181 6,  when  it 
attained  the  proportions  of  actual  war  between  the  North- 
west people  on  the  one  side  and  the  Hudson  Bay  people  with 
the  colonists  on  the  other.  Many  lives  were  lost  on  both 
sides,  but  the  colonists  suffered  most  severely. 


92         BUSINESS    METHODS    OF    HUDSON    BAY    COMPANY. 

The  grave  aspect  which  this  rivalry  had  now  assumed 
was  such  that  it  could  no  longer  escape  the  attention  of  the 
mother  country.  The  contestants  were  brought  into  court, 
and  in  1819  the  matter  was  laid  before  the  British  parlia- 
ment. It  is  said  that  over  half  a  million  dollars  were 
expended  in  litigation  without  effecting  any  satisfactory 
settlement.  Finally  the  inevitable  course,  which  had  long 
..^  been  pointed  out  by  more  far-sighted  men,^  that  of  coalition, 
/  took  place  in  1821,  the  united  company  retaining  the  name 
of  the  older  rival.  New  regulations  relating  to  criminal 
and  civil  jurisdiction  were  promulgated,  and  new  descrip- 
tions of  boundaries  were  made.  The  rights  of  the  company 
were  not  materially  abridged,  while  its  territories  were 
vastly  extended,  and  its  power  for  peaceful  commerce 
increased.  Meanwhile  the  noble  efforts  of  Lord  Selkirk 
began  to  prosper,  and  the  Red  river  colony  secured  a  new 
and  permanent  lease  of  life. 

The  organization  of  the  Hudson  Bay  and  Northwest 
companies,  their  internal  regulations,  method  of  dealing 
with  the  Indians,  and  policy  in  preserving  the  fur-bearing 
animals  from  extinction,  were  the  outgrowth  of  long  expe- 
rience, and  embodied  the  highest  wisdom  in  the  manage- 
ment of  their  extensive  affairs.  The  experience  of  each  of 
the  rivals  was  added  to  that  of  the  other  in  the  amalgamated 
company  after  182 1,  and  formed  one  of  the  most  perfect 
commercial  organizations  of  which  the  world  has  any 
knowledge.  The  systems  of  service  and  promotion  pro- 
tected the  company  from  incompetent  servants.  To  gain 
high  position  in  the  service,  one  must  begin  at  the  bottom 
and  work  up.  All  must  work  for  the  company's  interest, 
and  none  were  allowed  to  engage  in  any  private  trade. 
Employes  were  frequently  changed  in  station  to  break  up 
any  irregular  practices  which  might  grow  up  with  long 
residence  in  one  place,  and  this  rotation  was  taken  advantage 
of  to  reward  faithful  service  and  punish  the  reverse.  The 
company's  officers  had  power  to  try  and  punish  offenders. 

*  Mackenzie  had  suggested  the  advisabiHty  of  union  as  early  as  1801. 


THE    MACKINAW    COMPANY.  93 

Military  duty  was  exacted  whenever  necessary,  and  a  regu- 
lar uniform  was  provided.  The  whole  organization,  from 
the  governor  down  through  factors,  traders,  and  clerks,  to 
the  lowest  mangeur  de  lard,  was  based  upon  the  principle  of 
perfect  discipline,  absolute  subordination  of  individual  inter- 
est to  that  of  the  company,  and  a  regular  promotion  based 
upon  merit.  Long  experience  had  perfected  all  parts  of 
this  intricate  machine,  and  not  even  the  greatest  of  modern 
railway  systems  can  excel  it  in  thoroughness  of  detail  and 
organization. 

In  its  dealings  with  the  Indians  the  same  wise  policy 
was  apparent.  Where  not  necessary  to  meet  competition 
the  sale  of  liquor  to  the  natives  was  not  generally  indulged 
in.  All  trade  was  upon  a  fixed,  though  just,  basis,  and  the 
Indians  knew  exactly  what  to  expect.  The  traders  were 
men  of  experience  with  the  natives,  and  were  well 
acquainted  with  the  Indian  character.  Intermarriage  with 
native  women  was  common,  from  the  chief  officers  down  to 
the  ranks,  and  thus  bonds  of  mutual  interest  were  created. 
Although  this  company  did  not  always  escape  difficulties 
with  the  Indians,  it  was  generally  on  terms  of  peace  with 
them,  and  its  hold  upon  them  as  against  irregular  traders 
was  well-nigh  absolute.  It  may  readily  be  seen  how 
powerless  must  have  been  a  private  trader  and  even  a  strong 
company  against  this  embodiment  of  power,  wealth,  expe- 
rience and  organization.  We  shall  have  occasion  in  the 
course  of  these  pages  to  note  several  attempts  to  enter  the 
field  in  competition  with  the  company,  and  their  invariable 
result  in  failure. 

There  was  another  British  company  which  occupied  a 
place  of  some  prominence  in  the  early  fur  trade,  and  which 
was  founded  after  the  career  of  the  Northwest  Company 
had  well  begun.  From  the  fact  that  its  headquarters  and 
principal  establishment  were  at  Michilimackinac,  it  was 
generally  known  as  the  Mackinaw  Company.  It  operated 
mainly  within  the  territories  of  the  United  States,  around 
the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  and  westward  to  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  in  Canadian  territory  east  of  Lake  Huron. 


94  UNITED  STATES  FUR  TRADE. 

At  St.  Louis  in  the  days  of  Spanish  rule  there  were  com- 
panies trading  under  grants  from  the  governor  of  Louisiana. 
Maxent,  Laclede  and  Company  was  one  of  these.  After  the 
death  of  Laclede  the  company  was  dissolved  and  others  took 
its  place.  Down  to  the  time  of  the  cession  there  had  been 
several  of  these  associations,  and  the  trade  had  extended 
well  up  the  Missouri  and  far  out  into  the  prairies.  None  of 
these  companies  ever  attained  any  extensive  success. 
1/  -In Jhe^ United  States  no  great  company  arose  until  late  in 
the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Circumstances  had 
been  unfavorable  to  the  building  up  of  the  trade.  The  War 
of  the  Revolution  absorbed  the  attention  of  the  people,  and 
its  termination  left  them  little  prepared  to  enter  at  once 
upon  great  commercial  undertakings.  The  Lidians  were 
generally  hostile,  and  under  British  influence.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  Great  Britain  continued  to  hold  the  posts 
along  the  upper  lakes,  whereby  the  trade  of  those  regions 
was  kept  in  the  hands  of  her  own  subjects.  For  a  decade  or 
more  after  the  peace  with  Great  Britain  the  obstacles  to  the 
organization  of  an  American  fur  company  were  almost 
insuperable.  Such  organization  as  did  finally  ensue  was 
brought  about  mainly  through  the  efforts  of  one  man,  a 
foreigner  by  birth,  John  Jacob  Astor.  The  career  of  this 
king  of  the  American  fur  trade  will  be  noted  more  at  length 
in  our  treatment  of  his  great  enterprise  on  the  Pacific 
coast. 

There  still  remains  to  be  noticed  the  trade  of  the  north- 
west coast,  which  bears  an  intimate  relation  to  the  history 
not  only  of  the  American  fur  trade,  but  of  the  nation  itself. 
The  trade  was  originated  by  the  Russians  as  early  as  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  motive  which  led 
adventurers  from  this  nation  to  the  American  coast  was  the 
great  abundance  there  of  sea  otter,  whose  fur  is  the  most 
precious  known.  These  furs  the  Russians  collected  and 
carried  to  the  Siberian  coast,  whence  they  were  transported 
partly  to  the  interior  and  partly  to  the  frontier  of  China. 
The  operations  of  these  traders  extended  along  the  coast 


THE    NORTHWEST    COAST.  95 

from  Bering  Strait  to  Vancouver  Island,  and  were  the 
foundation  of  Russian  claims  to  territorial  sovereignty  on 
that  portion  of  the  American  continent. 

American  traders  also  obtained  a  foothold  in  the  lucrative 
trade  of  the  northwest  coast.  The  celebrated  voyage  of 
Captain  Cook,  1776-80,  made  known  to  the  world  this  reser- 
voir of  wealth ;  but  as  it  was  several  years  before  an  authen- 
tic account  of  the  voyage  appeared,  the  results  of  the  dis- 
covery were  not  immediately  taken  advantage  o.f.  In  1787, 
shortly  after  the  appearance  of  the  narrative  of  Cook's  dis- 
coveries, some  Boston  merchants,  enthused  by  his  reports, 
undertook  to  send  some  ships  to  see  what  was  to  be  found 
there.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  American  trade  on 
this  coast,  a  trade  which  soon  developed  almost  to  the  pro- 
portions of  a  monopoly ;  for  down  to  the  time  of  the  War 
of  181 2  there  were  more  than  three  times  as  many  American 
vessels  engaged  in  it  as  those  of  all  other  nations  together. 

The  trade,  as  practiced  by  the  Boston  merchants,  devel- 
oped into  quite  a  system,  A  cruise  ordinarily  lasted  three 
years.  The  vessel  would  leave  home  with  suitable  merchan- 
dise, in  time  to  reach  the  coast  in  the  spring  of  the  year. 
After  trading  all  summer  along  the  coast,  it  would  go  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands  for  winter,  and  would  return  again  the 
following  spring.  After  another  season's  trade  it  would 
sail  with  its  cargo  to  China,  exchange  it  for  goods  suitable 
to  the  American  market,  and  then  return  home. 
^  Briefly  to  summarize  what  has  been  related  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  American  fur  trade,  its  status  at  about  the  year 
1807  was  as  follows:  The  Hudson  Bay  and  Northwest 
companies  were  fighting  for  supremacy  in  the  country 
northwestward  from  Lake  Superior,  The  southern  line  of 
their  operations  lay  well  within  United  States  territories, 
touching  the  sources  of  the  IMississippi  and  extending  to  the 
Missouri  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Mandan  villages.  The.. 
Mackinaw- Company  and  other  traders  controlled  the  terri- 
tory about  the  upper  lakes  and  westward  to  the  Mississippi. 
John  Jacob  Astor  was  gradually  getting  a  hold  upon  the 


96  STATE  OF  TRADE  IN  1807. 

American  trade,  and  was  already  forming  the  schemes 
which  occupied  his  later  life.  The  various  St.  Louis 
traders  carried  on  their  business  up  the  Mississippi  for  some 
distance,  but  mainly  up  the  Missouri  and  its  tributaries, 
having  already  encountered  the  Northwest  Company  on  the 
upper  river.  A  large  part  of  their  trade  at  this  time  was 
along  the  Osage  and  Kansas  rivers  and  southward  toward 
the  Arkansas.  A  few  isolated  expeditions  had  gone  as  far 
west  as  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  one  or  two  attempts  had 
been  made  to  penetrate  to  Santa  Fe.  Lewis  and  Clark  had 
crossed  to  the  Pacific  and  had  returned,  making  known  the 
vast  resources  of  the  upper  tributaries  of  the  Missouri  and 
of  the  country  beyond.  Pike  had  made  a  similar  expedition 
to  the  southwest.  With  these  extensive  regions  now  under 
the  flag  of  the  United  States,  the  field  of  enterprise  in  the 
fur  trade  was  open  to  all  who  chose  to  embark  in  it. 
Traders  at  once  prepared  to  improve  the  opportunities  thus 
thrown  open  to  them,  and  their  enterprises  thereafter  went 
on  unceasingly  until  the  onward  march  of  civilization  termi- 
nated them  altogether. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ST.   LOUIS. 

Importance  as  an  emporium  of  trade  —  Founding  of  the  city  —  La- 
clede—  Spanish  rule  at  St.  Louis  —  The  "Affair  of  1780"  —  Transfer 
of  Upper  Louisiana  to  the  United  States  —  Early  growth  of  St.  Louis  — 
Advent  of  the  steamboat  —  Early  population  of  St.  Louis  —  The  fur 
trade  —  Comparison  of  the  old  city  with  the  new. 

*W'T  is  doubtful  if  history  affords  the  example  of  another 
■  city  which  has  been  the  exclusive  mart  for  so  vast  an 
extent  of  country  as  that  which  was  tributary  to  St.  Louis 
during  the  entire  period  embraced  in  this  work.  Every 
route  of  trade  or  adventure  to  the  remote  regions  of  the  west 
centered  in  St.  Louis.  The  very  location  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri  gave  it  monopoly  of  all  trade  originating  in  the 
valley  of  that  stream,  whether  among  the  wild  tribes  of  the 
mountains  three  thousand  miles  away,  or  among  the  infant 
settlements  which  were  advancing  with  slow  but  sure  foot- 
step along  the  lower  course  of  the  river.  The  Oregon 
Trail,  which  began,  as  an  independent  line  of  travel,  near 
the  present  site  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  brought  down  the 
tribute  from  the  high  mountain  sections  of  the  central  west, 
from  the  interior  basin  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  and  to  some 
extent  from  the  more  remote  regions  on  the  Pacific  slope. 
In  like  manner  the  Santa  Fe  Trail,  which  left  the  Missouri 
river  at  the  same  point  as  did  the  Oregon  Trail,  and  was 
coincident  with  it  for  some  distance  west,  carried  to  and  fro 
that  peculiar  commerce  which  long  existed  with  the  foreign 
city  of  Santa  Fe,  and  even  with  the  distant  provinces  of  old 
Mexico  and  of  southern  California. 

Following  the  lines  of  trade,  all  travel  to  the  Far  West, 
whether  for  pleasure  or  for  scientific  research,  all  exploring 


98  MAXENT,    LACLEDE    AND    COMPANY. 

expeditions,  all  military  movements,  all  intercourse  with  the 
Indians,  and  even  the  enterprises  of  the  missionaries  in  that 
distant  country,  made  St.  Louis  their  starting  point  and 
base  of  operations. 

It  was  here  that  trans-shipment  of  commerce  was  made 
to  eastern  markets  by  way  of  the  Mississippi,  the  Ohio,  or 
the  Great  Lakes,  Warehouses  and  mercantile  establish- 
ments arose  for  outfitting  the  numberless  expeditions  to  the 
interior.  The  government  maintained  a  military  post  near 
by,  and  had  here  its  principal  office  of  Indian  affairs  for  the 
trans-Mississippi  tribes. 

The  city  of  St.  Louis  is  therefore  in  the  fullest  sense 
an  historic  datum  for  all  events  which  transpired  during  this 
period  in  the  vast  regions  to  the  westward ;  and  some  notice 
of  its  contemporaneous  history  is  indispensable  to  a  com- 
plete exposition  of  our  subject. 

St.  Louis  is  one  of  the  few  American  cities  of  the  first 
class  whose  birth  antedates  the  birth  of  the  Union.  Boston, 
New  York,  and  Philadelphia  on  the  Atlantic,  Detroit  on  the 
Great  Lakes,  New  Orleans  on  the  Gulf,  San  Francisco  on 
the  Pacific,  and  St.  Louis  in  the  interior,  comprise  the 
number.  The  founding  of  St.  Louis  and  the  choice  of  its 
location  appear  to  be  closely  related  to  that  event  which  has 
already  been  referred  to  as  the  most  important  in  American 
history  —  the  conquest  of  Canada  and  eastern  Louisiana  by 
the  English.  In  1762  the  firm  of  Maxent,  Laclede  and 
Company  of  New  Orleans  was  granted  the  exclusive  trade 
of  the  Missouri  river  and  of  the  Mississippi  as  far  as  to  the 
mouth  of  the  river  St.  Peters.  The  grant  was  an  important 
one,  and  the  company  took  prompt  steps  to  realize  its 
advantages;  but  as  they  had  to  organize  a  large  and  costly 
expedition  and  send  to  Europe  for  their  merchandise,  it 
was  not  until  August  3,  1763,  that  they  were  able  to  leave 
New  Orleans. 

The  responsibility  of  selecting  a  site  for  the  company's 
proposed  establishment  was  entrusted  to  one  of  its  number, 
Pierre  Laclede  Liguest,  who  is  described  as  a  man  of  ability 


LACLEDE    ARRIVES    AT    FORT    DE    CHARTRES.  99 

and  well  qualified  for  so  important  a  duty.  Among  his 
companions  was  Auguste  Chouteau,  then  a  lad  of  only 
thirteen,  who,  notwithstanding  his  extreme  youth,  is  said 
to  have  been  Laclede's  most  trusted  subordinate. 

When  the  expedition  left  New  Orleans  the  news  of  the 
Treaty  of  Paris  and  that  of  the  cession  of  the  west  bank 
of  the  Mississippi  to  Spain  had  not  yet  arrived.  Laclede 
therefore  set  out  on  his  long  journey  in  the  belief  that  the 
country  included  in  his  grant  was  still  a  dependency  of 
France.  The  progress  of  keelboat  navigation  up  the 
devious  course  of  the  Mississippi  was  very  slow,  and  the 
summer  and  autumn  had  worn  away  before  the  expedition 
arrived  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  French  settlements 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  Here  in  all  probability 
Laclede  received  his  first  intimation  of  the  cession  of  the 
east  bank  of  the  river  to  Great  Britain,  and  at  once  saw  that 
this  event  was  of  great  consequence  to  the  future  of  his 
enterprise.  We  are  led  to  infer  that  it  was  his  desire  to 
build  his  post  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  where  he  would 
be  among  his  own  people,  in  easier  reach  of  supplies,  and 
protected  against  danger  from  the  Indians  on  the  opposite 
bank.  But  now  this  choice  was  no  longer  open  to 
him. 

The  season  was  too  far  advanced  when  he  reached  St. 
Genevieve,  the  lowest  of  the  upper  settlements,  and  the  only 
one  then  located  on  the  west  bank,  to  permit  him  to  establish 
his  post  before  winter  would  set  in,  and  it  became  imperative 
to  find  a  place  where  he  could  store  his  merchandise  until 
spring.  The  village  of  St.  Genevieve  had  no  available 
building  of  sufficient  capacity,  and  Laclede  was  perplexed  to 
know  what  to  do,  when  a  messenger  arrived  from  M.  De 
Neyon  de  Villiers,  commandant  at  Fort  de  Chartres  on  the 
east  shore,  offering  Laclede  the  necessary  accommodations 
at  that  place  until  the  English  should  arrive.  Laclede 
promptly  accepted  the  offer,  and  arrived  at  Fort  de  Chartres 
November  3d,  just  three  months  after  leaving  New  Orleans. 

After  having  made  such  arrangements  as  he  could  to 


lOO  SITE    OF    ST.    LOUIS    CHOSEN. 

carry  on  a  trade  from  Fort  de  Chartres  during  the  winter,  he 
set  out  with  Chouteau  and  a  small  party  in  December  to 
select  the  site  of  his  post.  The  news  of  the  cession  of  the 
east  bank  of  the  river  to  Great  Britain  had  the  effect  of 
enlarging  Laclede's  views  of  the  future  of  his  proposed 
establishment.  He  saw  that  there  would  be  a  large  emigra- 
tion of  the  French  from  the  Illinois  settlements,  for  many  of 
the  inhabitants  would  refuse  to  live  under  English  rule. 
They  could  not  return  to  Canada,  for  that  was  also  included 
in  the  cession,  and  New  Orleans  was  a  thousand  miles  away. 
Why  not  offer  them  a  refuge  at  the  place  where  he  proposed 
to  build  his  post?  The  idea  evidently  became  a  part  of 
Laclede's  plan,  for  Chouteau,  who  later  wrote  a  narrative 
of  these  events,  repeatedly  refers  to  his  selection  of  a  site  as 
the  place  of  his  proposed  "  settlement  "  or  "  village." 

The  choice  of  site  now  being  restricted  to  the  west  bank, 
and  as  near  as  possible  to  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  yet 
below  it,  lest  traffic  descending  either  stream  might  be  com- 
pelled to  ascend  the  other  in  order  to  reach  the  post,  the  sit- 
uation where  St.  Louis  now  stands  was  certain  to  be  selected. 
Here  was  a  bold,  firm  bank,  high  enough  to  give  immunity 
from  floods,  yet  not  so  high  as  to  be  inaccessible  in  loading 
and  unloading  cargoes ;  a  bench  of  land  broad  enough  for 
the  proposed  village;  and  a  safe  and  commodious  channel 
close  to  the  shore,  where  boats  could  be  loaded  and  unloaded 
with  ease  and  safety.  Add  to  these  desirable  features  that 
the  surroundings  were  of  great  beauty,  the  site  evidently 
salubrious,  and  the  quick  eye  of  Laclede  told  him  that  he 
had  found  what  he  was  after.  He  might  have  followed  the 
shore  for  many  a  mile  in  either  direction  without  finding  its 
superior. 

Chouteau  says  that  Laclede  "  was  delighted  to  see  the 
situation,  and  did  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  form  there  the 
establishment  that  he  proposed.  .  .  .  After  having 
examined  all  thoroughly,  he  fixed  upon  the  place  where  he 
wished  to  form  his  settlement,  marked  with  his  own  hand 
some  trees,"  and  then  gave  Chouteau  explicit  directions  as 


THE    CITY    FOUNDED.  lOI 

to  what  he  desired  to  have  done.  Upon  his  return  to  Fort 
de  Chartres  he  expressed  his  great  satisfaction  with  the  site 
selected,  and  even  indulged  the  prediction  that  here  would 
yet  arise  "  one  of  the  finest  cities  in  America." 

Navigation  opened  early  in  the  following  spring,  and 
Chouteau  set  out  in  the  beginning  of  February  with  thirty 
men,  "  nearly  all  mechanics,"  and  reached  the  site  of  the 
proposed  establishment  on  the  14th  of  that  month. ^  On  the 
morning  of  the  15th  work  was  begun  in  earnest,  and 
ground  was  broken  for  the  first  time  to  erect  buildings  where 
now  stand  the  stately  edifices  of  a  city  of  half  a  million  peo- 
ple. Laclede  arrived  early  in  April  and  "occupied  himself 
with  his  settlement,  fixed  the  place  where  he  wished  to 
build  his  house,  laid  the  plan  of  the  village  he  wished  to 
form,  and  named  it  St.  Louis  in  honor  of  Louis  XV., ^ 
whose  subject  he  expected  to  remain  for  a  long  time." 

Thus  in  the  midst  of  the  solitudes  of  a  yet  unexplored 
country,  upon  the  shores  of  the  greatest  river  of  the  con- 
tinent, this  small  band  of  practical  men,  eschewing  all  osten- 
tatious ceremony  or  display,  and  guided  solely  by  the  natural 
fitness  of  the  situation  for  the  purposes  of  peaceful  com- 
merce, laid  the  foundations  of  the  future  metropolis  of  the 
Mississippi  valley.  Not  least  of  the  honors  which  have 
befallen  men  in  the  past  is  that  of  having  chosen  from  the 
wilderness  those  situations  where  their  posterity  has  loved 
to  dwell ;  where  it  has  opened  its  marts  of  trade  and  indus- 
try ;  where  it  has  built  its  temples  of  learning  and  religion, 
and  where  it  has  assembled  that  infinite  variety  of  the  prod- 
ucts of  civilization  which  unite  to  form  a  great  city.  Such 
an  honor  will  ever  attach  to  the  name  of  Pierre  Laclede 
Liguest.^ 

*  There  is  some  discrepancy  among  the  authorities  as  to  this  date, 
but  the  one  here  given  has  the  weight  of  evidence  in  its  favor. 

^  Named  indirectly  in  honor  of  Louis  XV.,  by  giving  it  the  name  of 
his  patron  saint,  St.  Louis,  who  was  Louis  IX.  of  France. 

^  The  view  of  the  founding  of  St.  Louis  which  I  have  here  given  is  at 
variance  with  the  conclusions  of  certain  historians  of  St.  Louis,  who 
maintain  that  Laclede  was  ignorant  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  until  after 


I02  SUBJECTS    OF    THE    KING    OF    SPAIN. 

Although  the  residents  of  the  newly-formed  village  were 
not  aware  of  the  fact,  they  were  at  this  time  virtually  sub- 
jects of  the  King  of  Spain,  and  so  remained  for  just  about 
forty  years,  when  the  city  passed  to  its  final  place  in  the 
history  of  nations.  It  was  not  at  once  that  the  Spanish 
assumed  possession.  Laclede  remained  sole  director  of  the 
colony  for  upward  of  a  year,  or  until  the  arrival  of  St. 
Ange  de  Bellerive.  This  officer  had  been  left  at  Fort  de 
Chartres  by  De  Neyon  de  Villiers  to  surrender  that  post 
and  the  surrounding  country  to  the  English;  and  immedi- 
ately upon  the  consummation  of  this  event  he  withdrew  his 
troops  to  St.  Louis.  By  general  consent  he  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  affairs  of  the  young  settlement,  and  so 
remained  until  1770,  May  20,  when  the  first  Spanish  gov- 
ernor, Don  Pedro  Piernas,  assumed  control.  There  were 
seven  Spanish  governors  in  all,  and  with  one  exception  their 
administrations  were  highly  acceptable  to  the  people,  to  a 
degree,  in  fact,  which  forms  a  bright  exception  to  the  gen- 
eral unpopularity  of  Spanish  colonial  government.^ 

he  had  selected  his  site.  In  doing  this  they  are  obUged  to  treat  the 
narrative  of  Auguste  Chouteau  as  a  mere  fabrication  —  an  ingenious 
after-thought  designed  to  give  a  philosophical  explanation  of  a  very  for- 
tunate event.  Such  a  course  is  a  drastic  one,  to  say  the  least,  for  even 
if  we  are  to  assume  that  this  distinguished  pioneer  were  willing  to  per- 
vert the  facts  of  history  to  his  own  credit,  the  motive  in  this  case  is 
wanting.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  cause  of  the  selection  of  the 
site,  whether  that  above  given  or  some  other,  the  credit  of  it  would 
nevertheless  redound  to  the  good  judgment  of  the  founder. 

The  view  of  these  writers  is  apparently  based  on  the  fact  that  news 
of  the  cession  did  not  reach  New  Orleans  for  some  months  after 
Laclede's  departure.  It  ignores  the  other  fact  that  the  news  might,  and 
probably  did,  first  reach  the  settlements  of  the  Illinois  by  another  route 
than  that  of  the  lower  Mississippi.  Tidings  of  such  deep  importance 
to  all  the  colonists  of  both  countries  would  not  travel  slowly,  and  it  is 
entirely  within  the  range  of  possibility  —  it  is  even  highly  probable  — 
that  the  Illinois  settlements  knew  what  had  happened  before  Laclede 
arrived  at  St.  Genevieve.  The  time  required  to  reach  the  Mississippi, 
either  by  way  of  the  Great  Lakes  or  by  the  Ohio,  would  make  this 
possible. 

*  Don  Pedro  Piernas,  from  May  20,  1770,  to  May,  1775 ;  Don  Fran- 


AFFAIR    OF    1780.  103 

For  the  most  part  the  affairs  of  the  colony  moved  on 
very  smoothly.  There  was  but  one  serious  menace  from 
the  Indians,  and  that  was  far  from  being  as  important  as 
historians  have  represented.  It  is  known  as  the  "  affair  of 
1780,"  and  undoubtedly  grew  directly  from  the  struggle 
then  going  on  between  Great  Britain  and  her  American 
colonies.  The  country  to  the  eastward  of  the  Mississippi 
had  been  wrested  from  the  English  through  the  valor  of 
General  George  Rogers  Clark,  and  there  were  some  attempts 
to  retake  it.  One  of  these,  to  all  appearances,  was  the  incur- 
sion of  the  Indians  in  1780,  and  their  abortive  attempt  upon 
Kaskaskia,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river.  Failing  in  their 
main  purpose,  some  of  them  crossed  to  the  west  bank.  May 
26,  1780,  and  murdered  six  people  on  the  Grand  Prairie, 
some  four  or  five  miles  northwest  of  St.  Louis.  This 
occurrence  became  magnified  in  the  course  of  time  into  a 
terrible  attack  upon  the  infant  village,  in  which  some  sixty 
inhabitants  lost  their  lives,  many  more  were  wounded,  and 
others  carried  into  captivity.  But  slight  as  it  actually  was, 
it  produced  a  deep  impression  upon  the  community.  The 
people  had  grown  to  believe  that  their  village  was  privileged 
with  immunity  from  Indian  attacks,  for  nothing  of  the  kind 
had  ever  occurred.  No  fortifications  had  been  erected, 
and  so  great  was  the  feeling  of  security  that  certain  rumors 
of  attack,  which  are  said  to  have  been  afloat  for  several  days 
prior  to  the  events  just  related,  were  cast  aside  as  unworthy 
of  attention.  But  after  this  affair  no  time  was  lost  in 
placing  the  village  in  a  state  of  defense.  A  line  of  fortifi- 
cations was  built  around  it,  and  the  citizens  for  a  long  time 
faithfully  guarded  it.  But  this  was  the  last,  as  it  had  been 
the  first,  serious  danger  from  the  Indians  which  ever  threat- 
ened St.  Louis,  unless  we  include  the  many  individual  out- 

cisco  Cruzat,  from  May,  1775,  to  1778;  Don  Fernando  de  Leyba,  from 
1778  until  his  death,  June  28,  1780;  Silvio  Francisco  Cartabona  (acting 
governor),  from  June  28,  1780,  until  the  arrival  of  the  new  governor; 
Don  Manuel  Perez,  from  November  25,  1787,  to  1793;  Zenon  Trudeau, 
from  1793  to  August  29,  1799;  Charles  Deshault  Delassus,  from  August 
29,  1799,  to  end  of  Spanish  rule,  March  9,  1804. 


I04  TRANSFER    OF    LOUISIANA. 

rages  which  were  committed  upon  the  settlers  by  the  Osage 
Indians,  and  by  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  during  the  War  of 
1812. 

The  greatest  event  in  the  history  of  St.  Louis,  except  its 
founding,  was  its  transfer,  with  that  of  Upper  Louisiana,  to 
the  United  States.  The  quiet  tenor  of  colonial  life  had 
rarely  been  disturbed  by  events  in  the  outer  world,  and  it 
is  doubtful  if  these  were  followed  very  closely  or  with  much 
interest  by  the  contented  inhabitants.  But  they  were  at 
length  suddenly  awakened  from  the  easy  routine  of  their 
affairs  by  the  glad  tidings  that  they  were  about  to  be 
restored  to  the  sovereignty  of  France;  and  fast  upon  the 
track  of  this  news  came  the  less  welcome  announcement  that 
their  city  and  their  country  had  been  sold  to  the  Americans. 
It  was  an  unusual  spectacle  that  took  place  in  St.  Louis 
March  9  and  10,  1804,  and  one  filled  with  sadness  to  the  old 
inhabitants,  who  were  mostly  of  French  descent.  The 
formal  transfer  of  LTpper  Louisiana  from  Spain  to  France 
had  not  been  made  when  the  time  arrived  for  its  transfer  to 
the  United  States.  In  order  that  this  transfer  might  be 
made  from  France  to  the  United  States,  according  to  the 
terms  of  the  treaty  with  Napoleon,  Captain  Amos  Stoddard, 
United  States  Army,  who  had  been  delegated  to  receive  the 
country  from  France,  was  empowered  by  the  French  govern- 
ment to  act  as  its  agent  in  the  transfer,  which  must  first  take 
place  from  Spain  to  France.  The  ceremony  of  the  first 
transfer  occurred  between  the  hours  of  11  A.  M.  and  12  M., 
March  9,  1804.  The  Spanish  flag  was  lowered  and  the 
standard  of  France  was  run  up  in  its  place.  The  people, 
although  conscious  that  the  sovereignty  of  France  was  being 
resumed  but  for  a  moment,  and  simply  as  a  necessary  for- 
mality in  the  final  transfer,  nevertheless  could  not  restrain 
their  joy  at  seeing  float  over  them  once  more  the  standard 
which  even  forty  years  of  the  mild  sway  of  Spain  had  not 
estranged  from  their  memory.  So  deep  was  the  feeling 
that,  when  the  customary  hour  came  for  lowering  the  flag, 
the  people  besought  Captain  Stoddard  that  it  might  remain 


SLOW    GROWTH    OF    ST.    LOUIS.  IO5 

up  all  night.  The  request  was  granted,  and  the  flag  of 
France  floated  for  twenty-four  hours  over  the  city  from 
which  it  was  about  to  be  withdrawn  forever.  At  the 
appointed  time  on  the  following  day,  March  lo,  1804,  the 
ceremony  of  transfer  from  France  to  the  United  States  was 
enacted.  The  flag  of  the  French  Republic  was  withdrawn, 
and  the  Stars  and  Stripes  waved  for  the  first  time  in  this 
future  metropolis  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Thus 
St.  Louis  became  perhaps  the  only  city  in  history  which 
has  seen  the  flags  of  three  nations  float  over  it  in  token  of 
sovereignty  within  the  space  of  twenty-four  hours.^ 

The  growth  of  St.  Louis  during  the  forty  years  from  its 
founding  to  its  transfer  to  the  United  States  had  been  very 
small  —  in  fact,  almost  nothing.  The  sudden  exodus  of  the 
French  families  to  the  west  shore  as  a  result  of  the  cession 
of  the  east  shore  to  Great  Britain,  gave  the  new  town  a  pop- 
ulation of  over  five  hundred  by  the  end  of  its  first  year's 
existence.  In  1800,  thirty-five  years  thereafter,  the  popula- 
tion was  only  925.  At  the  time  of  the  cession  it  could  not 
have  been  more  than  a  thousand.  Contrary  to  general 
expectation  the  effect  of  the  cession  in  stimulating  immi- 
gration was  at  first  small.  The  War  of  181 2,  and  the 
resulting  danger  from  the  Western  Indians,  who  were  to 
some  extent  under  British  influence,  together  with  the  gen- 
eral stagnation  of  business  enterprise  throughout  the 
country,  held  back  the  growth  of  the  town  for  many  years. 
The  United  States  census  of  1810  showed  only  1,400  popu- 
lation; a  local  census  of  181 5  showed  2,000,  while  the  next 
United  States  census,  that  of  1820,  gave  4,000. 

^  "The  author  of  these  sketches  [History  of  Louisiana]  was  the  con- 
stituted agent  of  the  French  Republic  in  Upper  Louisiana,  and  in 
her  name  received  possession  of  that  province  on  the  ninth  day  of 
March,  1804,  and  the  next  day  transferred  it  to  the  United  States." — 
Stoddard. 

The  interesting  episode  regarding  the  flag  rests  upon  tradition,  but  of 
more  than  ordinary  probability.  It  was  related  to  the  author  by  Mr. 
Pierre  Chouteau  of  St.  Louis,  whose  ancestors  were  eye-witnesses  of 
the  ceremonies  attending  the  transfer. 


I06  ADVENT    OF    THE    STEAMBOAT. 

At  about  this  latter  date  St.  Louis  began  to  feel  the  effect 
of  that  important  innovation  in  transportation  methods  — 
the  development  of  the  steamboat.  We  may  place  as  the 
third  great  event  in  her  history,  the  arrival  of  the  first 
steamboat.  This  event  took  place  on  July  27,  181 7,  when 
the  steamer  Pike  moored  at  the  city  landing.  The  first 
attempt  to  navigate  the  Missouri  by  steam  was  in  1819. 
The  Independence  left  St.  Louis  for  Franklin,  Mo.,  on  the 
i6th  of  May  of  that  year,  and  either  on  that  day  or  the 
next  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri.  The  great  impor- 
tance of  this  new  invention,  by  which  the  current  of  the 
rivers  was  overcome  and  all  distances  virtually  shortened  to 
one-fourth  their  former  length,  can  not  be  overestimated. 
It  was  fully  appreciated  by  the  thoughtful  men  of  St.  Louis 
at  the  time,  and  filled  them  with  a  just  enthusiasm  at  the 
brilliant  prospects  before  them.  "In  181 7,"  said  a  writer 
in  the  Missouri  Gazette,  "  less  than  two  years  ago,  the  first 
steamboat  arrived  at  St.  Louis.  We  hailed  it  as  the  day  of 
small  things,  but  the  glorious  consummation  of  all  our 
wishes  is  daily  arriving.  .  .  Who  could  or  would  have 
dared  to  conjecture  that  in  1819  we  should  have  the  arrival 
of  a  steamboat  from  Philadelphia  or  New  York  ?  Yet  such 
is  the  fact !  " 

The  growth  of  steamboat  navigation  on  all  the  western 
rivers  after  this  period  was  rapid  and  continuous.  St. 
Louis  became  a  great  trade  center,  and  soon  her  long  levees 
had  not  space  enough  to  accommodate  the  boats  which 
assembled  there  from  every  direction  —  from  New  Orleans 
at  the  south  and  from  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  at  the  north ; 
from  the  Alleghenies  in  the  east  and  the  Rockies  in  the  west, 
and  even  from  the  distant  cities  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  It 
was  a  wonderful  development,  and  marks  the  era  of  real 
growth  of  the  city  of  St.  Louis. 

A  feature  of  the  early  life  of  St.  Louis,  which  will  always 
have  an  attraction  for  the  readers  of  its  history,  is  that 
which  relates  to  the  manners  and  customs  of  its  first  inhab- 
itants.    St.  Louis  today  bears  scarcely  a  trace  of  its  early 


EARLY  POPULATION  OF  ST.  LOUIS.  IO7 

character.  The  two  or  three  hundred  original  families  who 
were  here  at  the  time  of  the  cession  would  now  be  well-nigh 
lost  in  the  hundred  thousand  families  to  be  found  within  the 
city  limits,  even  if  they  had  preserved  unimpaired  the  cus- 
toms and  language  of  their  fathers.  But  these  families 
have  themselves  yielded  to  the  current  of  innovation,  and 
have  drifted  far  from  the  ancient  landmarks.  They  no 
longer  use  their  native  language  in  business  affairs,  and 
while  they  adhere  to  the  religious  faith  of  their  fathers, 
the  church  no  longer  fills  the  place  in  their  life  that  it  once 
did. 

The  population  of  St.  Louis  at  the  time  of  the  cession 
was  extremely  heterogeneous.  New  Orleans  was  the  parent 
of  the  enterprise  which  led  to  its  founding,  but  the  nearly 
century-old  towns  of  the  Illinois  —  Vincennes,  Cahokia, 
Kaskaskia,  and  Fort  de  Chartres  —  furnished  most  of  the 
original  population.  Thus  the  two  great  provinces  of  New 
France,  Canada  and  Louisiana,  united  in  the  up-building  of 
this  future  great  city.  But  the  Creoles  of  the  north  and 
south  bore  little  enough  resemblance  to  the  same  generations 
of  Frenchmen  in  the  motherland.  The  rapid  progress  of 
France  in  the  disturbing  ideas  of  the  times,  which  culmi- 
nated in  the  Revolution,  was  not  shared  by  the  colonists  in 
the  new  world;  and  the  settlements  in  the  far  interior  of 
America  were  more  like  the  French  villages  of  the  time  of 
Louis  XIV.  than  those  of  the  period  in  which  they  actually 
flourished.  This  early  French  population  of  the  Illi- 
nois was  to  some  extent  what  the  peasantry  of  French 
Quebec  are  today.  The)^  loved  the  quiet,  listless  ways 
of  their  fathers.  The  enterprising  spirit  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  had  no  charms  for  them.  Honest  and  punctilious  in 
their  dealings,  courts  and  lawyers  were  almost  unknown. 
Crime  was  very  rare  and  jails  were  not  found  necessary. 
Wealth  and  beggary  were  alike  absent.  Ambition  was  not 
a  trait  of  their  character.  Art  and  learning  had  not  yet 
taken  root.  Even  the  commonest  manufactures  seem  to 
have  been  lacking  and  the  people  derived  their  living  from 


I08  PAIN    COURT,    VIDE    POCHE,    MISERE. 

the  field  and  from  the  chase.  But  with  all  this  apparent  lack 
of  the  qualities  which  seem  to  us  essential  to  the  growth  of 
any  community,  they  were  a  happy  people.  They  were 
fond  of  amusements,  in  which  the  celebration  of  church 
fetes  bore  a  prominent  part.  They  were  unselfish,  hospi- 
table and  friendly  in  their  intercourse,  and  a  kind  of  demo- 
cratic spirit  prevailed  which  their  change  from  monarchical 
rule  to  that  of  a  republic  has  certainly  not  operated  to  foster. 
On  the  whole  they  represented  a  type  of  life  over  which 
the  contemplative  mind  delights  to  linger,  and  it  is  a  doubt- 
ful question  whether  in  its  extinction  the  world  has  not  lost 
something  which  the  present  substitute  does  not  adequate- 
ly replace. 

St.  Louis  was  perhaps  less  noteworthy  as  an  example  of 
this  mild  and  benevolent  type  of  life  than  were  the  little 
villages  from  which  she  sprung.  The  more  enterprising 
of  the  French  families  settled  here.  They  did  not  settle 
down  like  their  neighbors  to  the  tilling  of  the  soil,  but 
devoted  themselves  more  to  commercial  pursuits.  To  such 
a  degree  did  they  discard  agriculture  in  favor  of  trade  that 
they  were  compelled  to  purchase  their  subsistence  to  some 
extent  from  the  neighboring  towns  ;  and  hence  the  origin 
of  the  soubriquet  Pain  Court  (short  of  bread)  which  her 
neighbors  used  to  fling  at  her.  There  was  not  the  strict 
propriety  in  this  nickname,  however,  that  there  was  in 
Vide  Poche  (empty  pocket)  and  Miscre  (wretchedness) 
with  which  she  was  wont  to  taunt  her  sisters  in  return. 

In  addition  to  the  French  element,  St.  Louis  at  the  time 
of  the  cession  contained  representatives  of  other  races  and 
nationalities.  There  were  numbers  of  Spaniards  who  had 
come  while  the  colony  belonged  to  Spain.  The  Americans 
had  already  gained  a  considerable  foothold,  which  every 
year  served  to  increase.  The  new  government  brought  its 
quota  of  civil  officials  who,  with  the  army  officers  stationed 
there,  became  an  important  accession  to  the  town.  Then 
there  was  a  floating  population  composed  of  the  voyageurs 
and  adventurers  who  were  constantly  going  to  and  returning 


ST.    LOUIS    AND    THE    FUR    TRADE.  IO9 

from  the  wilderness.  A  considerable  element  of  negro  pop- 
ulation in  the  status  of  slavery  existed,  and  the  sight  of 
Indians  in  the  streets  of  the  village  was  never  wanting. 
Add  to  these  elements  the  very  considerable  contingent  of 
respectable  visitors  who  came  and  remained  long  enough  to 
see  the  new  country,  frequently  also  making  excursions  into 
the  interior,  and  we  have  as  varied  and  mixed  a  population 
as  can  be  imagined. 

The  great  business  of  St.  Louis  in  these  early  years  was 
her  trade  with  the  wild  regions  of  the  far  west,  at  this  time 
consisting  mostly  in  furs.  St.  Louis  was  an  offspring  of 
the  fur  trade  and  her  growth  for  three-fourths  of  a  cen- 
tury depended  almost  entirely  upon  it.®  Her  principal 
merchants  were  all  more  or  less  concerned  in  it,  and  most 
of  them  were  familiar  by  actual  experience  with  life  on 
the  frontier.  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  the  leading  mercantile 
genius  of  St.  Louis,  and  one  of  the  greatest  in  the  country, 
made  several  trips  up  the  Missouri,  at  one  time  going  as 
far  as  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone.  Manuel  Lisa  spent 
a  large  part  of  his  time  in  actual  life  in  the  wilderness. 
General  Ashley  spent  much  time  on  the  upper  Missouri  and 
beyond  the  mountains  on  Green  river  and  in  the  Salt  Lake 
basin.  Sublette  and  Campbell  were  both  trained  mountain 
men.  It  was  in  these  remote  fields  that  the  foundations 
of  great  fortunes  were  laid,  and  that  the  substantial  business 
character  of  St.  Louis  began  its  development.''^ 

It  is  always  a  pleasing  recreation  of  the  fancy  to  trace  the 
changes  which  time  works  in  great  cities,  particularly  where 

'  For  fifteen  years  before  the  cession  the  annual  value  of  the  St.  Louis 
fur  trade  is  said  by  one  authority  (Thomas  Allen)  to  have  been  $200,- 
000;  but  this  was  probably  an  exaggeration. 

^  It  is  a  matter  of  much  interest,  and  one  that  few  residents  of  St. 
Louis  are  cognizant  of,  that  the  supremacy  which  their  city  held  as  a 
fur  market  in  its  early  days  she  holds  in  an  even  greater  degree  today; 
and  it  will  even  more  surprise  many  to  know  that  the  magnitude  of  the 
St.  Louis  fur  trade  is  now  actually  larger  than  in  the  years  when  the 
great  fur  companies  were  exploiting  those  virgin  regions  where  the 
beaver  had  never  been  disturbed  by  man.  The  character  of  the  trade 
has  changed  somewhat,  but  its  volume  is  as  great  as  it  ever  was. 


no  THE    OLD    ST.    LOUIS. 

those  changes  are  so  rapid  and  extensive  as  they  are  in  most 
American  cities,  St.  Louis  was  built,  and  long  remained, 
"  under  the  hill  " ;  that  is,  it  was  on  the  first  bottom  or 
terrace  immediately  on  the  bank  of  the  river  where  the  levee. 
Main  street  and  Second  street  now  are.  This  terrace  led  to 
an  abrupt  limestone  bluff  facing  the  river,  which  has  now 
been  wholly  graded  down  and  replaced  by  a  well-paved 
levee  of  gradual  slope.  It  was  very  many  years  before  the 
city  climbed  the  hill  at  all.  It  was  mostly  located  along  one 
street,  La  Rue  Principalc  (also  called  La  Rue  Royale),  the 
present  Main  street.  Second  street  was  called  La  Rue  de 
I'Eglise,  or  Church  street,  because  it  ran  in  front  of  the 
block  where  the  old  cathedral  and  church  buildings  stood. 
Third  street  was  called  La  Rue  des  Granges,  or  Barn  street, 
while  Fourth  street  had  not  come  into  existence.  The 
cross  streets  likewise  had  French  names,  as  for  example.  La 
Rue  de  la  Tour  (Tower  street)  the  present  Walnut,  which 
extended  back  from  the  river  to  the  fort  and  tower  on  the 
hill  where  Fourth  street  now  intersects  Walnut. 

The  defenses  which  were  constructed  after  the  "  affair  of 
1780"  lay  mainly  on  the  hill.  The  line  started  from  the 
river  at  the  foot  of  the  present  Franklin  avenue  and  extend- 
ed back  to  the  bastion  at  the  intersection  of  Franklin  and 
Third.  It  then  ran  in  nearly  a  straight  line  to  the  fort 
and  tower  between  Fourth  and  Fifth  at  the  crossing  of 
Walnut.  Thence  it  extended  nearly  parallel  to  the  river  to 
a  point  in  Third  street  near  Lombard,  where  was  located  in 
1797  a  blockhouse  on  the  banks  of  Mill  creek.  From  the 
blockhouse  it  ran  directly  to  the  river.  On  or  near  this  de- 
fensive line  were  four  stone  towers. 

Mill  creek.  La  Petite  Riviere,  occupied  the  valley  where 
the  railroads  of  St.  Louis  now  enter  and  leave  the  city.  Its 
source,  says  Brackenridge,  was  about  "  three  miles  from 
town  among  a  few  tall  oaks,"  where  it  took  its  rise  in  "  four 
or  five  silver  fountains."  At  an  early  day  a  dam  was 
thrown  across  the  valley  and  a  considerable  pond  was  thus 
created  near  by  the  present  site  of  the  Union  Station.     It 


THE    NEW    ST.    LOUIS.  Ill 

was  long  used  to  furnish  power  to  a  flour  mill,  and  was  a 
favorite  resort  until  the  city  overgrew  it. 

The  extensive  plateau  stretching  back  in  gentle  undula- 
tions and  culminating  in  the  ridge  along  which  Grand 
avenue  new  runs,  reaching  far  to  the  northward,  was 
called  La  Grande  Prairie.  Beyond  this  extended  the  broad 
area  of  rolling  timbered  ground,  full  of  the  beauty  of  luxur- 
iant foliage,  and  presenting  a  picture  which  the  modern  St. 
Louisan  may  still  behold  in  the  undisturbed  topography  of 
Forest  Park. 

Such  was  the  St.  Louis  of  our  ancestors.  How  different 
it  is  today !  Approaching  from  the  east  shore  of  the  river, 
the  visitor  crosses  on  one  of  the  world's  greatest  bridges 
and  sees  below  him  to  right  and  left  the  broad  levee  and  row 
of  low  buildings  where  the  ancient  village  was  built.  Sud- 
denly he  is  lost  in  darkness,  for  the  train  enters  a  tunnel 
through  the  "  hill  "  and  does  not  emerge  until  it  reaches 
the  valley  of  La  Petite  Riviere.  But  the  little  creek  and  its 
ancient  pond  and  mill  are  no  longer  to  be  seen.  In  their 
place  lie  the  innumerable  tracks  and  the  yards  pertaining  to 
the  railroads  which  center  in  the  metropolis  of  the  Missis- 
sippi valley  and  terminate  in  one  of  the  finest  railroad  sta- 
tions in  the  world.  Beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and 
in  place  of  the  former  stream,  lies  a  mammoth  sewer  through 
which  a  hundred  petites  rivieres  might  flow. 

Just  on  the  summit  of  the  "  hill,"  near  where  the  old  fort 
used  to  stand,  is  the  business  center  of  St.  Louis.  Many 
a  building  now  rises  in  that  vicinity  which  alone  represents 
more  wealth  than  the  entire  village  possessed  in  1804.  Far 
up  and  down  the  river  for  a  distance  of  many  miles  the  unin- 
terrupted succession  of  buildings  extends.  To  the  west- 
ward over  the  "  Grande  Prairie  "  it  stretches  from  six  to  ten 
miles,  and  the  elite  of  the  city  now  dwell  where  were  only 
fields  and  woods  when  St.  Louis  became  an  American  city. 
All  over  this  immense  area  an  intricate  system  of  mains  and 
pipes  carries  the  supply  of  water  and  light  for  half  a  million 
people,  while  in  every  direction  powerful  electric  cars  of 


112  LACLEDE  S    PREDICTION. 

modern  creation  bear  to  and  fro  an  active  and  prosperous 
population. 

It  would  be  an  endless  task  to  pursue  this  comparison 
into  all  the  details,  even  of  interest  and  importance,  which 
readily  suggest  themselves.  For  St.  Louis  is  a  prophecy 
fulfilled,  and  could  Laclede  but  return  for  a  moment  into 
her  midst,  with  what  pride  might  he  not  recall  his  enthusi- 
astic prediction  that  here  should  yet  stand  "  one  of  the  finest 
cities  of  America" ! 


•A 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EXPEDITIONS  OF    1807. 

Ma  quel  Lisa  —  Lisa,  Menard,  Morrison  and  Company  —  Drouillard 
kills  Bissonnette  —  Expedition  meets  John  Colter  —  Lisa's  skill  with  the 
Indians — Passage  of  the  Aricara  villages  —  Experience  with  the  Assini- 
boines  —  Lisa  builds  a  post  in  the  Crow  country  —  Result  of  year's 
trade  —  Mandan  chief  Big  White  —  Preparations  for  chief's  return 
home  —  Stopped  by  the  Aricaras  —  Battle  with  the  Aricaras  —  Failure 
of  the  expedition. 

FOUNDING  OF  FORT  LISA. 

*fi5EGINNING  with  the  close  of  the  government  explora- 
^'^  tions  in  1806,  the  narrative  portion  of  the  present 
work  takes  up  the  thread  of  events  with  the  following  year, 
when  for  the  first  time  an  attempt  was  made  to  organize  an 
extensive  trade  in  the  newly  discovered  regions  around  the 
sources  of  the  Missouri. 

The  Spanish  regime  of  forty  years  in  Upper  Louisiana 
gave  to  the  fur  trade  but  one  prominent  name  of  that  nation- 
ality. This  was  Manuel  Lisa.  In  boldness  of  enterprise, 
persistency  of  purpose,  and  in  restless  energy,  he  was  a 
fair  representative  of  the  Spaniard  of  the  days  of  Cortez. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  ability,  a  masterly  judge  of  men, 
thoroughly  experienced  in  the  Indian  trade  and  native  cus- 
toms, intensely  active  in  his  w^ork,  yet  withal  a  perfect  enig- 
ma of  character  which  his  contemporaries  were  never  able 
to  solve.  Although  he  never  seems  to  have  commanded  the 
warm  support  and  confidence  of  his  associates,  still  so  fully 
were  his  abilities  recognized  that  he  was  selected  to  com- 
mand in  the  field  nearly  every  expedition  sent  out  by  the  St. 
Louis  companies  of  which  he  was  a  member.^ 

^  A  careful  biographical  sketch  of  this  distinguished  representative  of 
the  early  St.  Louis  fur  trade  will  be  found  in  the  following  chapter. 


114  LISA,    MENARD    AND    MORRISON. 

U  Lis^/was  quick  to  grasp  the  importance  of  the  information 
femtiglit  back  by  Lewis  and  Clark  concerning  the  resources 
of  the  countries  traversed  by  these  explorers,  and  in  his 
characteristic  way  he  at  once  set  about  to  reap  his  share  of 
its  advantages.  He  formed  an  association  with  William 
Morrison  of  Kaskaskia,  111.,  an  experienced  and  successful 
trader,  and  Pierre  Menard  of  the  same  town  who  for  many 
years  was  connected  with  one  or  another  of  the  St.  Louis 
companies.  Careful  preparations  were  made  to  send  an 
expedition  under  Lisa  to  the  upper  rivers  the  following 
spring,  with  a  view  of  establishing  posts  among  those  dis- 
tant tribes  who  had  not  yet  been  brought  into  relations  with 
American  traders.  It  was  a  venture  of  no  little  hazard  for 
the  destination  was  more  than  two  thousand  miles  away, 
among  tribes  whose  friendship  was  at  least  doubtful,  and  a 
goodly  portion  of  the  route  lay  through  the  country  of  other 
tribes  already  well  known  for  their  treacherous  and  desper- 
ate character.  To  a  less  courageous  spirit  than  that  of  Lisa 
be  obstacles  would  have  seemed  too  great. 

The  expedition  left  St.  Louis  in  the  spring  of  1807.^  The 
merchandise  destined  for  barter  with  the  Indians  was  carried 
on  a  keelboat  and  the  progress  of  the  expedition  was  limited 
to  the  slow  rate  at  which  this  boat  could  be  dragged  up  the 
winding  course  of  one  of  the  most  troublesome  navigable 
streams  in  the  world. 

Early  in  the  journey  an  incident  occurred  which  illus- 
trates some  of  the  harder  features  of  the  fur  trade.  Lisa 
had  with  him  as  his  right  hand  man,  George  Drouillard,^ 
who  had  been  an  interpreter  and  hunter  with  Lewis  and 

'  The  data  for  the  history  of  this  expedition  are  less  complete  than 
could  be  wished.  The  Louisiana  Gazette,  the  first  newspaper  of  St. 
Louis,  and  now  one  of  our  best  authorities  upon  those  early  times,  was 
not  established  until  1808.  There  are  no  letters  or  documents  extant 
bearing  upon  the  enterprise.  Our  main  authorities  are  Brackenridge, 
who  received  an  account  of  the  expedition  direct  from  Lisa,  and  Thomas 
Biddle,  who  wrote  from  personal  knowledge  of  the  work  of  the  fur 
traders  in  the  early  years  of  the  century. 

^  "A  man  of  much  merit,     .     .     .    peculiarlj'  useful  from  his  knowl- 


\ 


MEETING    WITH    JOHN    COLTER.  II5 

Clark  and  had  now  associated  himself  with  the  first  trading 
expedition  to  the  regions  he  had  visited.  At  the  mouth  of 
the  Osage  river  Antoine  Bissonette,  one  of  the  engages, 
deserted,  Lisa  ordered  a  search  for  him  and  commanded 
that  he  be  brought  back  dead  or  alive.  Drouillard  over- 
took and  shot  him,  wounding  him  severely.  Lisa  put  the 
wounded  man  in  a  boat  and  sent  him  back  to  St.  Charles, 
•doing  all  that  was  possible  for  his  comfort  ;  but  he  died 
on  the  way.  When  Lisa  and  Drouillard  returned  the  fol- 
lowing year,  1808,  Drouillard  was  tried  for  murder  before 
J,  B.  Lucas,  presiding  judge,  and  Auguste  Chouteau,  asso- 
ciate.    The  jury  found  him  not  guilty. 

The  passage  of  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  was  marked  on 
the  present  occasion  by  an  event  of  more  importance  than 
the  enactment  of  the  good-natured  jokes  which  world- 
wide maritime  custom  inflicts  upon  those  who  for  the  first 
time  cross  the  "  line  "  from  one  hemisphere  to  the  other.^  A 
boat  with  a  solitary  passenger,  a  white  man,  was  descried 
descending  the  river.  Such  a  sight,  at  this  early  date,  was 
most  unusual,  and  the  members  of  the  expedition  were  eager 
to  learn  who  it  might  be.  By  good  fortune  it  proved  to  be 
the  very  man  of  all  others  whom  Lisa,  had  he  been  permitted 
to  choose,  would  have  wished  to  meet.  It  was  John  Colter, 
one  of  Lewis  and  Clark's  men,  who  had  crossed  to  the 
Pacific  with  those  officers,  and  on  his  way  back  the  follow- 
ing year  had  stopped  to  hunt  and  trap  upon  the  upper  trib- 
utaries of  the  Missouri.  He  was  fresh  from  the  very  coun- 
try which  Lisa  intended  to  visit,  and  that  sagacious  leader, 
it  may  be  safely  assumed,  omitted  no  inducement  which 
might  secure  to  his  party  so  valuable  an  acquisition.  Col- 
ter agreed  to  return,  and,  abandoning  his  own  little  craft, 
turned  his  face  for  the  third  time  toward  the  sources  of  the 

edge  of  the  common  language  of  gesticulation  and  his  uncommon  skill 
as   a   hunter  and   woodsman."     Lewis   and   Clark. 

Lisa's  expedition  was  commonly  mentioned  at  the  time  as  that  of 
Lisa  and  Drouillard. 

*  See  Part  V.,  chapter  IIL,  description  of  the  Platte  river. 


ii6  Lisa's  skill  with  the  Indians. 

Missouri.  It  was  now  over  three  years  since  he  had  left  the 
frontiers  of  civihzation. 

The  danger  from  hostile  Indians  to  those  early  expedi- 
tions up  the  Missouri  was  a  very  formidable  one.  Above 
the  friendly  tribe  of  the  Omahas,  who  dwelt  not  far  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Platte,  the  navigator  had  to  pass  the 
country  of  six  or  seven  tribes  who  might  prove  hostile  or 
friendly  according  as  circumstances  over  which  he  had  no 
control  might  turn.  It  was  a  very  rare  thing  for  a  keelboat 
to  run  the  entire  gauntlet  unmolested,  while  in  many  in- 
stances disastrous  conflicts  were  precipitated.  The  chan- 
nel of  the  river,  so  capricious  and  shifting,  often  ran  close 
to  the  shore,  and  placed  a  boat  party  in  frequent  jeopardy,  if 
not  absolutely  at  the  mercy  of  the  Indians.  A  leader  of 
great  experience,  full  of  nerve  and  tact,  and  of  that  scarcely 
less  valuable  quality  described  by  the  word  "  bluff,"  was 
indispensable  in  these  delicate  emergencies.  The  lives  of 
the  party  frequently  hung  as  upon  a  thread  which  the  slight- 
est maladroitness  or  weakness  would  break.  Defects  of 
leadership  cost  many  a  life  on  the  hostile  shores  of  the  Mis- 
souri. 

But  Lisa  was  as  far  master  of  the  art  of  conciliating  the 
good  will  of  the  Indians  as  was  any  trader  that  ever  ascend- 
ed the  river.  He  knew  when  to  be  gentle  and  when  severe, 
and  could  adroitly  mingle  with  his  protestations  of  friend- 
ship demonstrations  of  ability  to  defend  himself.  While 
smoking  the  pipe  of  peace  he  did  not  conceal  the  muskets 
of  his  followers,  nor  the  more  formidable  swivels  upon  the 
boat.  He  knew  the  indispensable  function  of  presents,  and 
he  was  never  niggardly  in  this  respect  where  parsimony 
might  mean  ruin.  In  short  he  understood  all  the  secret 
springs  which  actuate  the  savage  mind,  and  with  marvelous 
dexterity  he  played  them  so  as  always  to  avert  catastrophe. 
His  enemies  accused  him  of  going  beyond  the  legitimate 
field  of  diplomacy  and  of  warding  ofT  danger  from  his  own 
head  by  directing  it  upon  those  of  competing  traders.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  he  never  was  caught  in  an  Indian  snare  and 
never  personally  had  serious  difficulty  with  the  savages. 


TROUBLE    WITH    THE    ARICARAS.  II/ 

On  the  J  resent  occasion  Lisa  passed  through  the  country 
of  the  Sioux  without  trouble,  but  was  stopped  by  that 
most  treacherous  of  the  Missouri  tribes,  the,  AricaraS'l  He 
found  between  two  and  three  hundred  warriors  awaiting  his 
approach,  for  news  always  traveled  among  these  Indians 
faster  than  boats  ascended  the  river.  They  evidently  meant 
trouble,  and  probably  intended  to  prevent  Lisa's  further  ad- 
vance. They  fired  a  volley  across  his  bow  at  the  place 
where  they  had  decided  that  he  should  land.  There  was  no 
way  to  ignore  their  imperious  command,  and  Lisa  put  to 
shore.  Immediately  upon  touching  the  beach  he  ordered 
that  no  Indians  should  get  in  his  boat,  and  the  chief  sta- 
tioned a  guard  to  keep  off  the  crowd.  The  women  then 
appeared  with  bags  of  corn  with  which  to  open  trade  ;  but 
an  Indian  rushed  forward  and  cut  the  bags  with  his  knife, 
whereupon  the  women  took  to  flight.  Whether  this  was  a 
premeditated  signal  for  a  general  onslaught  is  not  clear,  but 
if  so,  the  purpose  was  foiled  by  Lisa's  watchfulness  and 
preparation.  They  had  failed  to  throw  him  off  his  guard. 
Instantly  calling  his  men  to  arms  and  training  his  two 
swivels  upon  the  shore,  he  gave  such  evidence  of  a  purpose 
to  open  fire  immediately  that  the  Indians  retreated  in  con- 
fusion. The  chiefs  then  came  forward  holding  their  pipes 
before  them  in  token  of  pacific  intentions.  Lisa  permitted 
them  to  approach  and  they  apologized  for  the  incident,  char- 
acteristically throwing  the  blame  of  it  upon  some  irrespon- 
sible person  who  they  said  was  a  "  bad  man."  Lisa  accept- 
ed this  hollow  explanation  without  being  in  the  least 
deceived  by  it.  He  quickly  finished  his  business  at  the  vil- 
lages and  resumed  his  voyage.^ 

Further  difficulty  was  encountered  among  the  Man- 
dans  —  a  very  unusual  circumstance,  for  these  Indians  were 
nearly  always  friendly  to  the  whites  —  but  Lisa's  skillful 
management  again  carried  his  party  safely  through.     With- 

*  We  shall  presently  see  how  different  an  interpretation  was  placed 
upon  Lisa's  action  at  the  Aricara  village  by  a  party  who  followed  him 
up  the  river. 


Il8  FRIGHTENS    THE    ASSINIBOINES. 

out  the  least  trepidation  he  left  the  boats  and  alone  passed 
through  the  entire  line  of  villages,  keeping  the  Indians 
back  from  the  river  until  the  boats  were  safel}  past.  He 
probably  left  a  small  outfit  of  goods  at  this  point. 

Some  distance  above  the  Mandan  villages  an  immense 
band,  numbering  four  or  five  thousand  Indians,  belonging 
to  the  wandering  Assiniboine  tribes,  was  encountered. 
Here  Lisa  thought  it  expedient  to  adopt  a  bolder  policy 
and  terrorize  the  Indians  before  actually  coming  in  contact 
with  them.  He  caused  his  swivels  to  be  heavily  loaded 
and  every  man  to  prepare  his  musket  as  if  about  to  go  into 
battle.  Having  completed  his  preparations  he  steered  across 
the  river  and  made  directly  for  the  place  where  the  Indians 
were  collected  on  the  bank.  When  he  had  arrived  within 
a  hundred  yards  he  ordered  his  swivels  and  musketry  to 
be  discharged,  taking  care,  however,  to  aim  where  the 
projectiles  could  do  no  harm.  The  Indians  were  appalled  at 
the  sight  and  sound  and  fell  over  each  other  in  their  panic 
to  get  to  the  hills  for  safety.  A  few  of  the  chiefs  and  war- 
riors remained  and  asked  to  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace.  The 
usual  ceremonies  were  gone  through  with,  presents  were 
given,  and  protestations  of  friendship  were  exchanged,  after 
which  the  little  party,  thankful  for  another  escape,  pursued 
their  perilous  way  up  the  river. 

Lisa  mentions  no  other  encounters  with  the  Indians  upon 
this  trip.  He  steadily  kept  on  his  way  up  the  Missouri 
until  he  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  where  later 
was  to  stand  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  fur-trading  establish- 
ments, and  then  ascended  the  latter  stream  until  he  reached 
the  mouth  of  its  principal  tributary,  the  Bighorn  river. 
Here  Lisa  stopped  and  prepared  to  commence  his  trading 
operations.  But  he  had  made  a  false  move  in  ascending  the 
Yellowstone  instead  of  the  Missouri,  considering  that  one  of 
his  chief  purposes  was  to  open  a  trade  with  the  Blackfeet 
Indians.  He  was  now  in  the  heart  of  the  territory  of  the 
inveterate  foes  of  that  tribe,  the  Crow  nation.  Whatever 
might  be  his  real  intentions,  this  act  of  going  to  the  Crows 


FORT    MANUEL.  I  I9 

to  build  his  post  could  not  but  make  the  jealous  Blackfeet 
suspect  that  he  was  in  league  with  their  enemies.  Lisa  prob- 
ably did  not  realize  the  far-reaching  consequences  of  this 
act  at  the  time  and  very  likely  ascended  the  Yellowstone  on 
the  advice  of  Colter,  who  had  found  it  a  good  fur  country 
and  who  had  had  little  occasion  to  observe  the  political 
situation  of  the  various  tribes. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  Lisa  halted  in  the  heart  of  the  Crow 
territory  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bighorn  river,  and  commenced 
his  post  at  the  junction  of  the  two  streams  on  the  right  bank 
of  each.  The  post  has  since  been  variously  known  as  Fort 
Lisa,  Fort  Manuel,  and  Manuel's  Fort.  No  relic  of  it  has 
survived  and  the  precise  spot  where  it  stood  is  unknown,  but 
to  it  belongs  the  honor  of  being  the  first  American  trading 
post  established  on  the  upper  rivers  and  the  first  building 
erected  within  the  limits  of  the  present  state  of  Montana. 

Of  Lisa's  operations  during  the  following  winter  we 
know  nothing  except  as  they  are  connected  with  the  adven- 
tures of  John  Colter.'^'  It  is  known  that  he  made  a  strong 
effort  to  open  up  relations  with  both  the  Crows  and  Black- 
feet.  With  the  Crows  he  was  successful,  but  not  so  with 
the  others.  The  outcome  of  the  year's  trade,  however,  was 
evidently  satisfactory,  and  Lisa  returned  to  St.  Louis  in  the 
spring  of  i^qB>  elated  with  his  success.  The  glowing  ac- 
counts brought  back  by  him  bore  fruit  in  the  more  preten- 
tious company  which  continued  his  work  in  the  following 
year. 

ATTEMPTED  RETURN  OF  THE  MANDAN  CHIEF. 

When  Lewis  and  Clark  arrived  at  the  Mandan  villages 
on  their  way  back  from  the  Pacific  in  1806,  they  persuaded 
the  Mandan  chief  Shahaka,  more  commonly  called  Gros 
Blanc,  or  Big  White,  to  accompany  them  to  St.  Louis  with 

®  Colter's  connection  with  this  expedition  has  won  for  the  intrepid 
hunter  a  permanent  place  in  the  history  of  the  west.  So  important 
were  his  adventures,  even  apart  from  the  objects  of  Lisa's  expedition, 
that  their  consideration  has  been  made  the  subject  of  separate  treatment. 
See  Part  IV.,  Chapter  X.  « 


II20  ESCORT    OF    MANDAN    CHIEF. 

a  view  of  making  a  visit  to  President  Jefferson.  One  of 
the  conditions  of  this  arrangement  was  that  the  chief  should 
be  safely  escorted  back  to  his  nation  when  the  contemplated 
visit  was  over.  Accordingly  in  the  following  summer  the 
United  States  took  measures  to  carry  out  its  agreem.ent  and 
an  expedition  was  organized  for  the  purpose.'^ 

The  chief's  party  consisted  of  himself  and  his  interpreter, 
Rene  Jesseaume  —  with  their  wives  and  one  child  each. 
The  escort  consisted  of  two  non-commissioned  officers  and 
eleven  privates  under  the  command  of  Ensign  Nathaniel 
Pryor  who,  as  a  sergeant,  had  accompanied  the  expedition 
of  Lewis  and  Clark.  There  had  but  recently  come  to  St. 
Louis  a  deputation  of  Sioux  Indians  consisting  of  eighteen 
men  and  women  and  six  children  accompanied  by  William 
Dorion.  It  was  arranged  that  they  should  return  at  the 
same  time,  but  they  were  provided  with  a  separate  escort  of 
soldiers  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Joseph  Kimball.  There 
also  ascended  the  river  at  this  time  two  trading  parties,  one 
for  the  Mandan  trade,  consisting  of  thirty-two  men  under 
the  direction  of  Pierre  Chouteau,  and  the  other  of  ten  men 
destined  for  the  Sioux  trade  led  by  "  young  Dorion,"  pre- 
sumably a  son  of  the  interpreter  who  was  for  a  time  with 
the  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition.  There  were,  besides,  one 
hunter,  three  hired  boatmen,  and  a  second  interpreter.  The 
total  strength  of  the  joint  party,  including  the  officers  but 
omitting  the  Indians,  was  seventy-two  men.  Including  the 
Indians  the  number  was  ninety-five.  The  whole  party  were 
to  proceed  together  as  far  as  to  the  Sioux  country,  whence 
Ensign  Pryor's  party  with  that  of  Pierre  Chouteau  would 
continue  on  to  the  Mandans. 

The  departure  from  St.  Louis  took  place  late  in  May, 
1807.  The  expedition  proceeded  prosperously,  although 
very  slowly,  passing  all  the  lower  Sioux  bands  in  safety. 
Here  Kimball's  and   Dorion's  parties  left  the  expedition, 

^  The  data  for  this  expedition  I  have  mainly  found  in  four  letters  by 
General  William  Clark  and  Nathaniel  Pryor.  These  were  edited  by 
Dr.  Elliott  Coues  and  published  in  Annals  of  Iowa,  1895,  pp.  613-620. 


ARICARAS    STOP    EXPEDITION.  121 

which  now,  reduced  to  about  fifty  men,  continued  the  jour- 
ney and  reached  the  lower  Aricara  village  at  9  A.  M.,  Sep- 
tember 9th.  The  Indians  of  this  village  fired  several  guns 
in  the  direction  of  the  boats.  Dorion,  the  interpreter,  asked 
what  was  the  matter  and  they  replied  by  inviting  the  party 
to  come  on  shore  and  obtain  a  supply  of  provisions.  The 
hospitable  treatment  which  Lewis  and  Clark  had  received 
from  these  same  Indians  the  year  before  threw  the  party  off 
their  guard  and  the  boats  were  ordered  to  land.  Here  it 
was  learned  that  the  Aricaras  and  Mandans  were  at  war 
with  each  other  and  that  several  of  the  upper  Sioux  bands 
were  allied  with  the  Aricaras  and  were  present  in  the  village. 
There  now  came  on  board  a  Mandan  woman  who  had 
been  captive  among  the  Aricaras  for  several  years,  and  who 
imparted  some  interesting  and  important  information  which 
would  probably  not  otherwise  have  been  found  out.  It 
appears  that  Mr.  Frederick  Bates,  who  had  given  Manuel 
Lisa  his  license  to  trade  on  the  upper  river,  visited  St. 
Charles  as  he  was  about  to  start  and  obtained  a  promise 
from  him  to  wait  and  accompany  the  party  escorting  the 
Mandan  chief.  Lisa,  with  his  characteristic  facility  for 
doing  what  he  deemed  best  for  his  own  interests  regardless 
of  promises,  went  on  alone.  According  to  the  story  of  the 
Mandan  woman,  when  he  found  the  Aricaras  disposed  to 
stop  him,  he  told  them  that  a  large  party  with  the  Mandan 
chief  would  soon  arrive,  and  after  giving  them  a  consider- 
able part  of  his  goods,  including  some  guns  and  ammuni- 
tion, he  was  allowed  to  proceed.  The  Indians  determined 
to  kill  him  on  his  return,  but  let  him  pass  on  for  the  present 
lest  rumors  of  their  acts  and  intentions  might  reach  the  par- 
ties below,*  and  cause  them  to  turn  back. 

*  Lisa's  account  of  this  affair,  as  related  by  Brackenridge,  has  already 
been  given.  Pryor  and  Chouteau  were  led  to  believe  that  Lisa  had 
secured  his  own  passport  through  these  tribes  at  their  expense.  How 
far  their  suspicions  were  true  cannot  be  said.  It  was  not  the  only 
charge  of  this  kind  against  Manuel  Lisa,  but  it  is  a  singular  fact  that 
his  various  acts  of  alleged  bad  faith,  such  as  that  here  related,  come 


122  ARICARAS    OPEN    ATTACK. 

This  fortunate  interview  acquainted  Ensign  Pryor  with 
the  true  situation.  He  ordered  the  Mandan  chief  to  barri- 
cade himself  in  his  cabin  and  prepared  his  men  for  action. 
After  considerable  parleying  and  speech-making,  in  which 
Ensign  Pryor  explained  the  purpose  of  his  journey,  and 
after  presenting  a  medal  to  one  of  the  chiefs,  the  party  left 
the  Indians  at  the  lower  village  in  no  good  humor  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  upper  village.  The  two  interpreters,  Dorion 
and  Jesseaume,  went  by  land  through  the  villages.  The 
Indians  being  clearly  bent  on  mischief,  Pryor  determined  to 
land,  for  the  double  purpose  of  taking  his  interpreters  on 
board  and  of  seeing  the  chief  of  the  upper  village,  whom 
he  had  not  been  able  to  communicate  with  in  the  village 
below.  The  Indians  ordered  the  boats  to  proceed  up  a 
narrow  channel  near  the  shore,  but  the  whites  discovered 
the  trap  in  time  and  refused  to  comply.  They  now  made 
known  their  purpose  to  detain  the  boats,  saying  that  Lisa 
had  told  them  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  present  party 
to  remain  and  trade  with  them.  They  first  seized  the  cabl? 
of  Chouteau's  barge,  intending  to  attack  the  party  in  which 
there  were  no  soldiers,  and  motioned  to  Pryor  to  go  on. 
This  Pryor  refused  to  do,  but  seeing  the  desperate  state  of 
affairs,  he  urged  Chouteau  to  offer  the  Indians  some  con- 
cession. Finally  Chouteau  agreed  to  leave  with  them  a 
trader  and  half  his  goods;  but  the  Indians,  confident  in 
their  ability  to  capture  the  outfit,  refused  the  offer. 

Meanwhile  the  chief  of  the  upper  village  came  on  board  of 
Ensign  Pryor's  barge  and  demanded  that  the  Mandan  chief 
go  on  shore  with  him.  The  request  was  peremptorily 
refused.  The  Indians  now  assumed  an  insolent  and  aggres- 
sive manner.  They  demanded  a  surrender  of  all  the  arms 
and  ammunition.  The  chief  to  whom  the  medal  had  been 
given  threw  it  on  the  ground  and  one  of  Chouteau's  men 
was  struck  down  with  a  gun.  Raising  a  general  war-whoop 
they  fired  on  the  boats  and  on  Chouteau  and  a  few  of  his 

only  from  those  who  claim  to  have  suffered  by  them.  The  reputable 
historians  of  the  time  make  no  mention  of  them,  and  they  are  evidently 
to  be  taken  with  much  caution. 


\ 


PRYOR    AND    CHOUTEAU    DEFEATED.  1 23 

men  who  were  on  the  shore,  and  then  withdrew  to  a  fringe 
of  willows  along  the  bank  some  fifty  yards  back.  Ensign 
Pryor  had  prepared  himself  for  this  contingency  and  imme- 
diately replied  with  the  fire  of  his  entire  force.  The  willows 
were  more  of  a  concealment  than  a  protection  and  the  Indi- 
ans probably  suffered  considerably.  The  contest  was  main- 
tained for  over  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  but  as  the  number  of 
Indians  was  so  great  as  to  threaten  destruction  to  his  party 
if  the  fight  were  continued,  Pryor  ordered  a  retreat.  This 
was  in  itself  a  difficult  thing  to  execute,  for  Chouteau's  barge 
had  stuck  fast  on  a  bar,  and  the  men  were  compelled  to  get 
out  into  the  water  and  drag  it  for  some  distance,  all  the 
while  under  the  fire  of  the  Indians.  At  length  the  boats 
were  gotten  off,  and  floated  down  the  current,  the  Indians 
following  along  the  bank  and  maintaining  the  fight  for  up- 
wards of  an  hour. 

It  was  not  until  sunset  that  the  pursuit  was  finally  aban- 
doned, and  then  only  on  account  of  the  death  of  one  of  the 
Sioux  chiefs,  the  very  man  who  had  been  in  Ensign  Pryor's 
boat.  He  wore  a  white  bandage  around  his  head  and  this 
mark  served  to  distinguish  him  among  his  followers  with 
whom,  to  the  number  of  about  forty,  he  was  trying  to  reach 
a  projecting  point  which  the  boats  must  pass.  He  was 
singled  out  by  those  in  the  boats  and  instantly  killed.  His 
followers  gathered  around  him  and  abandoned  the  pursuit 
of  the  boats  which  soon  passed  out  of  sight. 

The  losses  in  this  conflict  were  three  of  Chouteau's  men 
killed  and  seven  wounded,  one  miortally.  Three  of  Ensign 
Pryor's  party  were  wounded,  including  the  interpreter,  Rene 
Jesseaume. 

Ensign  Pryor  now  proposed  to  the  Mandan  chief  that 
they  should  attempt  to  make  the  rest  of  the  distance,  about 
three  days'  march,  by  land,  going  well  back  from  the  river 
into  the  prairies  and  thus  passing  around  the  hostile  Indians. 
The  chief  would  not  consent  on  account  of  the  wounded 
condition  of  the  interpreter  and  the  encumbrances  of  their 
wives  and  children.     The  party  then  returned  to  St.  Louis. 


124  BRITISH    INFLUENCE. 

Thus  ended  the  first  attempt  to  return  the  Mandan  chief 
to  his  nation.  Ensign  Pryor  expressed  his  opinion  that  it 
would  require  a  force  of  not  less  than  four  hundred  men 
to  accomplish  the  expedition  with  the  temper  of  the  Indians 
as  it  then  was.  It  was  thought  at  the  time  that  the  hand 
of  the  British  was  plainly  apparent  in  inciting  the  northern 
Indians  to  this  and  similar  outrages.  Whether  such  was 
the  case  or  not  may  be  doubted,  but  it  was  the  general 
belief,  shared  even  by  those  high  in  authority.  The  inci- 
dent was  the  beginning  of  that  series  of  outrages  committed 
by  the  treacherous  Aricaras  upon  the  traders  in  which  many 
white  men  lost  their  lives  during  the  next  twenty  years.® 

•  For  an  account  of  this  tribe  of  Indians  see  Part  V.,  chapter  IX. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  MISSOURI  FUR  COMPANY. 
MANUEL  LISA,,   ITS   FOUNDER. 


/ 


Manuel  Lisa  —  His  supposed  attempt  in  the  Santa  Fe  trade  —  His 
journeyings  —  Made  sub-agent  —  His  work  in  the  War  of  1812  —  Be- 
comes president  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company — His  death  —  Magnitude 
of  his  work  —  His  energetic  nature  —  His  enemies  —  His  marriage  — 
His  Indian  marriage  —  His  name  and  language  —  His  religion. 

/^  F  the  three  principal  fur  companies  which  operated  from 
^^  St.  Louis  to  the  westward — the  Missouri  Fur  Com- 
pany, the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  and  the  American 
Fur  Company  —  the  first-named  was  the  oldest,  and  had 
nearly  run  its  course  before  either  of  the  others  was  well  es- 
tablished in  the  St.  Louis  trade.  The  history  of  this  com- 
pany is  practically  the  history  of  one  man,  who  was  from  the 
first  its  leading-  spirit,  and  for  a  large  part  of  its  history  the 
only  man  of  prominence  connected  with  it.  So  remarkable 
was  his  life,  and  so  strong  a  part  did  he  play  in  the  early 
history  of  the  Missouri  fur  trade,  that  an  extended  notice 
of  his  career  is  an  essential  preliminary  to  a  history  of  the 
company. 

Manuel  Lisa,  Indian  trader,  was  born  of  Spanish  parents 
in  New  Orleans,  September  8,  1772.^  His  father,  Christo- 
pher Lisa,  came  to  this  country  in  the  service  of  his  govern- 
ment about  the  time  that  the  Spanish  took  possession  of 
Louisiana.  Nothing  of  interest  concerning  the  father's  ca- 
reer nor  of  young  Lisa's  early  life  has  come  to  light.  It  is 
known  that  the  father  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  in  the  Spanish 

*  This  is  the  record  on  Lisa's  tombstone  in  Bellefontaine  Cemetery, 
St.  Louis.  His  birthplace  is  generally  given  as  in  one  of  the  West 
Indies. 


126  LISA    AND    THE    SANTA    FE    TRADE. 

service  and  that  young  Lisa  came  to  St.  Louis  at  an  early 
date,  probably  not  later  than  1790.  He  had  become  well 
established  in  his  lifelong  occupation,  the  fur  trade,  before 
the  end  of  the  century,  for  one  of  the  first  notices  on  record 
concerning  him  is  that  of  his  securing  from  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernment about  the  year  1800  the  exclusive  trade  with  the 
Osage  Indians  on  the  Osage  river.  He  must  have  already 
gained  some  reputation  and  experience  as  a  trader  to  be 
given  so  important  a  grant,  for  he  thus  displaced  Pierre 
Chouteau,  who  is  said  to  have  had  the  privilege  of  the  trade 
for  upwards  of  twenty  years.^ 

Our  first  definite  knowledge  of  Lisa  begins  with  the  period 
covered  by  the  present  work.  He  went  up  the  Missouri 
river  in  1807  ;  built  his  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bighorn  ; 
returned  in  1808  and  was  the  moving  spirit  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  St.  Louis  Missouri  Fur  Company  in  the  winter 
of  1808-9.  He  ascended  the  river  again  in  the  spring  of 
1809  to  his  post  on  the  Bighorn,  which  he  transferred  to  the 
new  company.     He  returned  to  St.  Louis  In  October,  1809. 

"  In  a  letter  to  Lieutenant  Z.  M.  Pike,  written  by  General  Wilkinson  at 
St.  Louis  shortly  after  Pike's  departure  in  1806  on  his  tour  of  explora- 
tion to  the  southwest,  occurs  an  interesting  reference  to  some  trader 
whose  name  is  purposely  withheld,  but  whom  the  latest  editor  of 
Pike's  Journals,  Dr.  Elliott  Coues,  thinks  he  can  identify  as  Manuel 
Lisa.  Wilkinson  informs  Pike  that  this  trader  has  on  foot  a  scheme  to 
carry  an  expedition  to  Santa  Fe,  and  he  warns  Pike  to  take  measures 
to  prevent  it.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  robust  ambition  of  Lisa  may 
have  looked  so  far  in  search  of  profitable  adventure.  He  was  at  this 
time  probably  in  relation  with  William  Morrison,  who  had  tried  to 
open  communication  with  Santa  Fe  two  years  before,  and  he  may  now 
have  been  considering  a  project  of  this  sort.  Why  it  should  have  ex- 
cited the  umbrage  of  General  Wilkinson,  it  is  difficult  to  understand, 
unless  it  came  athwart  some  incipient  enterprise  of  that  faithless  serv- 
ant of  his  country.  There  was  certainly  no  harm  in  attempting  to  open 
up  that  line  of  trade  which  a  few  years  later  was  to  become  an  impor- 
tant branch  of  frontier  commerce.  The  reference  is  of  interest,  both  as 
indicating  the  breadth  of  Lisa's  ambition,  and  showing  that  already 
he  had  raised  up  about  him  that  swarm  of  enemies  that  harassed  him 
the  rest  of  his  life. 


MADE    INDIAN    AGENT.  1 27 

In  the  following  winter  he  attempted  to  go  to  Montreal  on 
business  connected  with  the  trade,  but  was  stopped  by  the 
embargo  (ce  maudi  cmhargaii,  in  his  own  bad  French,)  at 
Detroit  and  was  compelled  to  return.  In  the  spring  of  1810 
he  again  ascended  the  river,  returning  to  St.  Louis  in  the  fall 
and  remaining  there  the  following  winter.  In  April, ''1811, 
he  set  out  again  for  the  upper  river  in  the  hope  of  learning 
what  had  become  of  Major  Andrew  Henry,  and  also  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  down  the  returns  of  the  previous 
winter  and  of  ascertaining  the  state  of  the  company's  prop- 
erty; for  this  was  the  last  year  of  the  term  fixed  for  the 
duration  of  the  company  and  a  dissolution  or  reorganization 
was  to  take  place  in  the  following  winter.  This  was  the 
celebrated  trip  on  which  Lisa  made  such  herculean  efforts  to 
overtake  Wilson  Price  Hunt,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  over- 
land Astorian  party.  Lisa  went  as  far  as  to  his  post  at  the 
Mandans  but  soon  returned  to  the  Aricara  villages,  where 
he  remained  until  Henry  came  down  the  river.  He  went 
back  to  St.  Louis  in  October. 

The  St.  Louis  Missouri  Fur  Company  was  reorganized 
during  the  winter  of  181 1-12,  some  of  the  members  dropping 
out  and  Lisa  becoming  relatively  a  more  important  person- 
age in  the  concern  than  before.  Lie  went  up  the  river  with 
two  barges  which  left  St.  Louis  May  2  and  May  6,  1812, 
and  remained  at  his  Mandan  post  until  the  following  spring. 
He  arrived  at  St.  Louis  with  the  winter's  trade  June  i,  181 3. 
During  his  absence  war  had  broken  out  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  and  new  conditions  had  arisen  in 
the  upper  Missouri  trade.  It  was  known  that  British  agents 
were,  or  soon  would  be,  active  among  the  upper  Missouri 
tribes,  and  that  there  might  soon  be  precipitated  upon  the 
settlements  the  horrors  of  a  frontier  war.  No  man  had 
more  influence  with  these  Indians  than  Lisa,  and  to  him 
was  assigned  the  task  of  endeavoring  to  hold  them  fast  to 
the  interests  of  the  United  States.  He  was  made  sub-agent 
for  all  the  Missouri  tribes  above  the  Kansas,  and  set  out 
again  for  the  upper  rivers  in  August,   18 14.     It  is  quite 


^ 


128         PRESIDENT    OF    THE    MISSOURI    FUR    COMPANY. 

possible  that  Lisa  went  up  to  the  Omaha  nation  during  the 
previous  year,  but  no  record  of  such  a  trip  has  come  to  us. 
He  now  went  up  to  Fort  Lisa,  an  estabHshment  which  he 
had  built  a  little  above  the  present  site  of  Omaha,  Nebras- 
ka, and  remained  there  until  the  spring  of  1815.  He  suc- 
ceeded beyond  all  expectations  in  controlling  the  Indians. 
He  not  only  organized  war  expeditions  against  some  of  the 
tribes  on  the  Mississippi  who  were  allies  of  the  British,  but 
he  secured  pledges  of  friendship  from  nearly  all  the  Missouri 
tribes,  and  went  down  to  St.  Louis  in  the  spring  of  181 5 
with  forty-three  chiefs  and  head  men  authorized  to  make 
treaties  of  friendship  and  alliance  with  the  United  States. 
It  was  mainly  through  his  efforts  that  the  upper  Missouri 
tribes  were  prevented  from  going  over  to  the  British,  and 
the  government  of  the  United  States  duly  recognized  the 
fact.3 

Lisa's  movements  during  the  two  years  after  the  war  are 
not  very  certain,  but  it  is  known  that  he  wintered  at  Fort 
Lisa  each  year.  In  181 7  he  resigned  his  commission  as 
sub-agent  in  a  letter,^  which  is  well  worth  perusal,  so  true  is 
it  to  the  character  of  the  man  as  shown  in  the  record  of 
his  work.  He  now  continued  his  regular  trade,  wintering 
at  Fort  Lisa  and  spending  about  two  months  of  the  summer 
at  St.  Louis.  The  Missouri  Fur  Company  underwent  vari- 
ous changes,  Lisa  becoming  more  dominant  in  its  councils, 
and  finally  its  president.  He  also  seems  to  have  been  gen- 
eral agent  or  manager  of  the  affairs  of  the  firm  of  Cabanne 
and  Company  on  the  Missouri  until  he  was  deprived  of 
the  trust  in  February,  1819,  because  he  had  come  down  the 
river  earlier  than  he  was  authorized  to  by  the  terms  of  his 
contract.  But  he  doubtless  came  down  from  necessity  of 
defending  his  interests  against  his  ubiquitous  enemies. 

^American  State  Papers,  Yo\.  II.,  Indian  Affairs,  p.  76:  "Manuel 
Lisa,  salary,  $548 ;  agent  for  the  tribes  of  the  Missouri  above  the 
Kansas ;  greater  part  of  his  time  with  these  tribes ;  resides  in  St. 
Louis ;  has  been  of  great  service  in  preventing  British  influence  the  last 
year  by  sending  large  parties  to  war." 

*  See  Appendix  B. 


5 

DEATH    OF    LISA.  1 29 

In  1 8 19  the  famous  Yellowstone  expedition  went  up  the 
river  and  made  its  grand  encampment  for  1819-20  near 
Lisa's  fort.  Lisa  left  no  stone  unturned  to  cultivate  the 
good  will  of  his  new  neighbors  and  evidently  rendered  them 
many  friendly  offices.  His  wife,  whom  he  had  married  but 
a  year  before,  went  up  to  his  establishment  and  remained 
during  the  winter. 

Lisa  returned  to  St.  Louis  in  April,  1820,  in  good  health. 
This  was  his  last  voyage  on  the  Missouri.  About  August 
ist  he  was  seized  with  a  serious  illness,  the  nature  of  which 
is  not  now  known,  and  he  died  on  the  12th  of  August  at 
the  Sulphur  Springs  some  distance  southwest  of  the  old  city, 
but  now  within  its  limits. 

Thus  closed  the  career  of  the  most  active  and  indefati- 
gable trader  that  St.  Louis  ever  produced.  A  faint  idea  of 
the  prodigious  labors  that  were  crowded  into  his  life  may 
be  gleaned  from  the  fact  that  during  its  last  thirteen  years 
he  ascended  and  descended  the  Missouri  river  twelve  times, 
and  possibly  thirteen,  if  his  movements  in  181 3-14  were 
more  fully  known.  These  journeys  were  never  less  than 
670  miles  long,  the  distance  to  Fort  Lisa.  Several  trips 
were  made  to  the  Mandan  establishments,  about  fifteen  hun- 
dred miles,  while  two  trips  were  made  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Bighorn,  about  two  thousand  miles.  In  all  he  could  not 
have  traveled  less  than  twenty-six  thousand  miles  by  river, 
or  a  total  distance  greater  than  the  circumference  of  the 
earth.  With  a  fair  allowance  for  speed  it  will  result  that 
he  must  have  spent  not  less  than  the  equivalent  of  three 
solid  years  battling  against  the  intractable  Missouri  or 
gliding  swiftly  with  its  downward  current.  Of  the  twelve 
winters  included  in  the  above  period  he  probably  spent  seven, 
and  possibly  eight,  in  the  wilderness. 

Such  are  some  of  the  more  tangible  facts  that  attest  the 
extraordinary  energy  of  this  noted  trader.  He  was  beyond 
comparison  the  ablest  of  the  traders  so  far  as  the  actual 
conduct  of  an  enterprise  was  concerned,  and  wherever  he 
alone  had  control,  and  was  not  hampered  by  the  councils 


130  SURROUNDED    BY    ENEMIES. 

of  others,  he  generally  succeeded.  He  once  said,  in  explain- 
ing his  successes :  "I  put  into  my  operations  great  activity. 
I  go  a  great  distance  while  some  are  considering  whether 
they  will  start  today  or  tomorrow."  Privation,  hardship, 
incessant  toil,  were  his  constant  portion.  He  could  put  his 
hand  to  the  oar,  if  necessary,  among  his  voyageurs,  lead 
them  in  their  songs,  and  cheer  them  to  exertions  which 
would  have  otherwise  been  unendurable.  In  brief  he  was  a 
man  who  never  shrank  from  any  toil  that  occasion  demand- 
ed, and  a  finer  example  of  persistent  effort  throughout  a  life- 
time can  scarcely  be  pointed  out. 

It  was  but  natural  that  so  vigorous  and  aggressive  a  na- 
ture should  have  made  enemies,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  see  why 
these  should  have  been  so  numerous  and  vindictive.  The 
leading  characteristic  of  Lisa's  life,  next  to  those  just  noted, 
was  the  constant  state  of  embroilment  with  others  in  which 
he  lived.  Even  La  Salle,  whose  entire  career  was  beset 
by  jealous  enemies,  could  scarcely  have  surpassed  Manuel 
Lisa  in  this  regard.  He  was  always  at  odds  with  some  one 
who  was  jealous  of  his  success  or  felt  aggrieved  at  his  inter- 
ference with  his  own  schemes.  Every  letter  written  by  Lisa, 
which  has  come  to  notice  in  these  studies,  is  mainly  taken 
up  in  anxious  complaints  of  the  unceasing  efforts  of  his  ene- 
mies to  ruin  him.  It  is  very  difficult  at  this  time,  when  all 
who  knew  him  personally  are  dead,  to  fathom  the  cause  of 
this  remarkable  feature  of  Lisa's  career.  All  contemporary 
references  to  him  are  exceedingly  flattering,  and  he  evident- 
ly stood  high  in  the  esteem  of  his  fellows.  The  primary 
cause  of  his  incessant  troubles  seems  to  have  been  jealousy 
of  his  success  as  a  trader.  It  will  be  noted  that  down  to  the 
day  of  his  death  no  other  trader  succeeded  in  securing  a 
foothold  in  the  upper  Missouri  trade.  There  is  also  some 
evidence,  although  it  all  came  from  his  enemies,  that  he 
was  unscrupulous  in  the  means  he  employed  to  promote  his 
own  interests.  If  this  be  so,  the  only  difference  between 
him  and  his  detractors  is  that  he  was  too  sharp  for  them  and 
succeeded  where  they  failed.     His  methods  certainly  were 


BUSINESS    PRINCIPLES.  I3I 

as  pure  as  theirs,  and  their  wrath  was  kindled  not  so  much 
on  account  of  them  as  at  their  invariable  success.  There  is 
no  record  of  his  ever  having  come  out  second  best  in  a  con- 
test with  his  competitors. 

He  was  accused  in  1807  of  having  prevailed  upon  the 
Aricaras,  in  consideration  of  letting  his  expedition  pass,  to 
stop  Lieutenant  Pryor  who  was  conducting  to  his  home  the 
Mandan  chief.  The  evidence,  however,  is  insufficient. 
Lisa  could  have  had  no  motive  for  such  an  act,  for  Pryor's 
expedition  was  not  in  the  trade,  and  could  do  Lisa  no-  harm. 
Moreover  it  would  have  been  madness  on  his  part  to  antag- 
onize a  government  expedition  and  thus  perhaps  cause  his 
own  trading  license  to  be  canceled.  Crooks  and  McLellan 
brought  a  similar  accusation  against  him  in  1810,  but  no 
evidence  of  its  truth  has  ever  come  to  light. 

So  in  every  instance  there  is  present  the  animus  of  jeal- 
ousy on  the  part  of  rival  traders,  and  such  evidence  must 
be  taken  with  much  allowance.  That  Lisa  was  always  right 
in  these  matters,  that  he  hesitated  to  resort  to  unscrupulous 
measures  in  resisting  those  of  an  enemy,  is  not  to  be  sup- 
posed. His  code  was  the  code  of  the  wilderness.  He  prac- 
ticed it  with  unflinching  severity,  and  his  superior  skill  was 
chiefly  what  roused  the  ire  of  his  less  expert  rivals.^ 

Thus  his  life  was  not  only  one  of  physical  activity,  but 

"  The  following  letter  is  a  fair  example  of  the  bitter  feeling  which 
was  entertained  toward  Lisa  by  his   St.   Louis  rivals.     It  is  from  B. 
Berthold  to  Pierre  Chouteau,  and  is  dated  August  20,  1819. 
"Mon  cher  Associe : 

"Par  Mr.  Dent  j'apprend  que  Manuel  s'est  decide  a  ammener  sa 
femme  [to  Fort  Lisa],  afin  d'attirer  chez  lui  la  protection  des  officiers, 
vu  qu'on  lui  a  rapporte  que  Ton  comptait  surveiller  sa  conduite.  II  se 
fait  fort  de  si  bien  les  traitter,  qu'il  espere  en  tirer  de  grands  avantages. 

"  Dans  le  cas  ou  vous  seriez  decide  a  y  faire  une  visite,  je  crois  que  de 
bonnes  lettres  d'introduction  pour  les  officiers  superieures  pourraient 
etre  de  quelque  utilite. 

"L'escargot  a  toujours  ete  tres  vanteur,  et  d'avance  a  pretendu 
predire  ce  qu'il  ferait.  Cette  annee  il  pretend  se  consolider  a  jamais. 
Je  crois  pour  ma  part,  que  quant  a  lui  meme,  il  est  le  moins  capable  de 
tous  les  traiteurs." 


132  Lisa's  marriages. 

mental  unrest  and  turmoil  as  well  —  a  life  not  at  all  exem- 
plified in  his  death,  if  we  may  accept  the  simple  record  in  the 
diary  of  his  father-in-law,  Stephen  Hempstead,  who  was 
present  at  his  death  bed,  that  "  he  died  without  distressing 
struggles." 

Lisa  was  twice  married  among  his  own  people  and  had 
besides  a  wife  among  the  Omaha  nation.  Of  his  first  wife 
almost  nothing  is  known.  There  was  a  tradition  that  she 
had  been  taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians  and  was  held  by  them 
until  General  Harrison  ransomed  her,  when  Lisa,  pitying 
her  condition,  married  her.  Her  name,  as  given  on  deeds 
by  her  mark  was  Mary  Charles  or  Polly  Charles.  She  died 
in  the  autumn  of  1817.  She  had  three  children.  The 
eldest,  Sally,  died  February  22,  1809.  The  second,  Man- 
uel, was  born  October  12,  1809,  and  died  June  29,  1826, 
surviving  his  father  six  years.  The  third  died  in  infancy, 
nearly  a  year  after  its  mother's  death. 

Lisa's  second  matrimonial  alliance  was  with  the  well- 
known  Hempstead  family.  He  married  Mary  Hempstead 
Keeney,  widow  of  John  Keeney,  and  daughter  of  Stephen 
Hempstead,  August  5,  1818.  This  marriage  was  a  very 
happy  one  and  there  are  still  extant  two  letters  of  Lisa  writ- 
ten to  his  wife  which  evince  the  most  tender  affection  for 
her.  He  was  even  heard  to  say  that  he  had  never  before 
known  what  domestic  happiness  was.  But  this  happiness 
had  its  drawbacks,  though  fortunately  not  of  a  serious  na- 
ture. Lisa  could  not  speak  either  English  or  French  dis- 
tinctly and  his  wife  could  not  speak  French  or  Spanish. 
Their  difficulties  in  making  each  other  understood  were  a 
source  of  much  mirth  to  the  family.  Mrs.  Lisa  spent  the 
winter  of  1819-20  at  Fort  Lisa,  and  was  probably  the  first 
white  woman  to  ascend  the  Missouri  so  far.  She  was  a 
most  lovable  and  saintly  woman,  revered  by  all  who  knew 
her.  She  was  always  known,  after  her  marriage  with  Lisa, 
as  Aunt  ManuelOC.She  survived  her  husband  nearly  fifty 
years  in  widowhood,  and  died  at  Galena,  Illinois,  Sej^tem- 
ber  3,  1869,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven. 


THE    STORY    OF    MITAIN.  I33 

An  interesting  and  pathetic  romance  is  connected  with 
Lisa's  Indian  courtship  and  marriage.  On  his  part  the 
alHance  was  made  purely  from  motives  of  pohcy  the  better 
to  ingratiate  himself  in  the  good  will  of  the  Omaha  tribe, 
and  to  strengthen  himself  against  the  influence  of  rival  trad- 
ers. He  sought  the  hand  of  a  beautiful  daughter  of  one  of 
the  principal  families  of  the  nation  and  after  the  usual  nego- 
tiations with  the  parents  the  marriage  was  consummated 
with  due  ceremony.  Lisa,  with  honorable  frankness,  made 
known  the  fact  that  he  was  already  married,  but  this,  in 
Indian  custom,  was  not  considered  a  bar  to  further  marriage. 
The  alliance  took  place  in  1 814.  In  the  spring  of  181 5  Lisa, 
as  was  his  wont,  went  down  to  St.  Louis  with  the  winter's 
trade  and  returned  during  the  autumn.  His  Indian  wife, 
who  does  not  appear  at  first  to  have  been  very  enthusiastic 
over  the  turn  in  her  fortunes,  fell  deeply  in  love  with  Lisa 
before  his  return,  perhaps  in  consequence  of  the  birth  of  a 
daughter,  a  fine  child,  which  occurred  during  Lisa's  absence. 
She  went  to  the  river  daily  with  her  child  and  watched  for 
the  boat  which  should  bring  back  the  husband  and  father. 
Great  was  her  joy  when  he  arrived  and  she  presented  him 
with  their  first  born,  and  the  father  himself  seems  to  have 
been  pleased  with  his  new  acquisition.  Upon  his  return  in 
the  fall  of  1816  his  Indian  wife  presented  him  with  another 
child,  a  son.  When  Lisa  was  preparing  for  his  St.  Louis 
trip  in  the  summer  of  181 7,  he  wanted  to  takej;he  first  child, 
which  he  had  named  Rosalie,  with  him.  The  mother  re- 
luctantly consented,  but  seemed  to  realize  that  she  should 
see  it  no  more,  and  burst  into  the  most  frantic  demonstra- 
tions of  grief  when  father  and  child  disappeared. 

In  the  fall  of  181 7  Lisa's  first  wife  died,  and  after  his  re- 
turn from  his  post  in  the  following  summer,  he  married  Mrs. 
Keeney.  When  he  took  her  to  Fort  Lisa  in  the  fall  of  1819 
he  sent  word  to  have  his  Indian  wife  removed  from  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  post.  She  could  not  remain  away, 
however,  and  after  a  time  came  to  the  post  with  some  of  her 
friends  and  sent  their  little  son,  who  had  been  named  Ray- 


134  PARTING    WITH    LISA, 

mond,  to  Lisa.  Peril  had  further  endeared  the  child  to  her, 
for  during  Lisa's  absence  both  mother  and  child  had  nar- 
rowly escaped  death  at  the  hands  of  the  Sioux.  While  one 
day  engaged  with  other  squaws  tilling  the  soil,  the  little  baby 
strapped  to  its  cradle  board  reclining  against  a  tree,  the 
Sioux  were  seen  approaching.  All  fled  in  terror,  but  the 
mother,  quickly  remembering  that  she  had  forgotten  the 
child,  rushed  back  in  the  very  face  of  the  Sioux,  seized  her 
precious  burden  and  fled  for  the  post.  When  she  reached 
the  fence  around  the  post  the  Sioux  were  almost  upon  her, 
and  she  threw  the  board,  baby  and  all,  with  her  full  strength 
to  the  other  side.  Mother  and  child  escaped,  although  four 
of  their  companions  were  slain.  Lisa  received  the  child 
affectionately  and  after  giving  the  mother  some  presents 
bade  her  go  to  her  people. 

When  Lisa  was  preparing  to  depart  for  St.  Louis  in  the 
spring  of  1820  he  sent  for  his  Lidian  wife  and  told  her  that 
he  intended  to  take  the  remaining'  child  to  St.  Louis  to  be 
reared  and  educated  there.  The  mother  was  so  overpow- 
ered with  grief  that  she  seized  the  child,  ran  to  the  river,  and 
getting  quickly  into  a  boat,  rowed  to  the  other  side,  where 
she  remained  out  of  doors  all  night.  The  next  morning, 
she  went  back,  gave  the  child  to  Lisa,  saying  that  she  knew 
it  would  be  better  off  where  he  wished  to  take  it,  but  begged 
that  he  would  take  her  also.  She  would  not  trouble  him 
but  would  live  in  any  nook  or  corner  that  he  might  provide 
for  her,  if  only  she  could  be  permitted  now  and  then  to  see 
her  children.  But  Lisa  was  inflexible.  He  offered  her 
rich  presents  and  bade  her  return  to  her  people,  telling  her 
that  their  relation  to  each  other  could  no  longer  continue. 
The  wretched  woman  burst  into  a  paroxysm  of  grief  and 
taunted  Lisa  with  faithlessness,  saying  that  their  marriage 
was  for  life  and  could  not  be  broken  off  ;  that  Lisa  had 
ruined  her  opportunities  for  marriage  among  her  own  peo- 
ple, and  now  was  about  to  desert  her  and  carry  away  her 
children.  But  these  entreaties,  whatever  weight  they  may 
have  had  with  Lisa,  could  not  prevail.     What  she  asked  was 


NAME,    SIGNATURE,    PORTRAIT,    LANGUAGE.  1 35 

impossible  and  it  was  Lisa's  desire  to  benefit  the  children 
that  alone  made  him  wish  to  take  them  with  him.  He  was 
now  reaping  the  sad  consequences  of  a  step  taken  solely  for 
purposes  of  policy.  He  persisted  in  his  decision  and  would 
have  carried  it  into  effect  had  not  the  Indian  Agent  inter- 
fered and  forbidden  him  to  take  the  child  from  its  mother.® 

Lisa  died  soon  after,  and  in  his  will  directed  his  executor 
to  provide  for  the  education  of  these  two  children,  and  left 
two  thousand  dollars  each  for  them  when  they  should  be- 
come of  age.  Whether  these  benevolent  provisions  were 
ever  carried  out  does  not  appear,  nor  what  became  of  the 
two  children.  As  all  of  Lisa's  other  children  died  without 
issue,  it  is  through  the  children  of  his  Indian  wife,  if  at  all, 
that  the  blood  of  their  distinguished  parent  has  found  a 
direct  descent  to  posterity. 

Lisa's  name  once  appears,  in  an  official  document,  as  Man- 
uel de  Lisa,  but  he  always  wrote  it  Manuel  Lisa.  He  was 
generally  known  by  his  first  name,  Manuel,  or  Mr.  Manuel, 
and  many  did  not  know  him  by  any  other.  He  is  said  to 
have  followed  the  sea  when  young  and  thence  to  have  gained 
the  title  of  captain  by  which  he  was  frequently  called.  His 
name  was  at  one  time  identified  with  many  geographical 
features  of  the  upper  country,  but  now  survives  in  one  or 
two  only.  His  signature  may  be  seen  opposite  page  139. 
There  is  still  in  existence  a  portrait  of  Lisa  in  oil,  now^in 
possession  of  Mrs.  Nathan  Corwith,  of  Highland  Park, 
Illinois. 

Lisa's  native  tongue  was  Spanish,  and  he  never  acquired 
a  fluent  or  correct  use  of  either  French  or  English.  Letters 
in  his  own  handwriting  in  either  language  are  barbarously 
written.  That  given  in  the  Appendix  is  taken  from  the  Mis- 
souri Gazette  and  was  edited  pretty  thoroughly  by  some 
friend  or  acquaintance  before  publication  ;  but  the  force  and 
spirit  of  the  composition  clearly  stamp  it  a  genuine  product 
of  Lisa's  vigorous  mind. 

*This  woman's  name  was  Mitain,  and  she  was  seen  by  Maximilian, 
1833. 


136  Lisa's  religion. 

Lisa  was  a  Catholic,  but  evidently  not  a  very  punctilious 
follower  of  his  church.  He  was  married  (the  second  time) 
by  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  the  well-known  Salmon  Gid- 
dings,  to  a  daughter  of  a  staunch  member  of  the  same 
church.  His  funeral  services  were  conducted  in  the  Cath- 
olic church,  but  he  was  buried  in  the  private  burying  ground 
of  the  Hempsteads,  now  in  the  Protestant  Bellefontaine 
cemetery. 

The  Lisa  monument  is  a  very  satisfactory  shaft  and  is 
still  in  a  state  of  perfect  preservation.  The  record  of  his 
life  is  on  the  southwest  face  over  the  word  Lisa,  and  that 
of  his  wife  on  the  southeast  face  over  the  words  Aunt 
Manuel,  There  are  also  records  of  other  members  of  the 
family  on  the  remaining  faces. 

How  much  property  Lisa  left  is  not  known,  but  his  affairs 
were  certainly  much  involved  at  the  time  of  his  death  and 
the  unencumbered  residue  of  the  estate  was  probably  not 
large. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  MISSOURI  FUR  COMPANY. 
SKETCH    OF    ITS   VARIED    CAREER. 

The  first  association  —  Contract  for  return  of  Mandan  chief  —  Ex- 
pedition of  1809  —  Movement  to  the  Three  Forks  of  the  Missouri  —  At- 
tack by  the  Blackfeet  —  Death  of  Drouillard  —  Position  at  Three  Forks 
untenable  —  Henry  crosses  the  Divide  —  Fort  Henry  abandoned  —  Aban- 
donment of  entire  upper  country  —  Post  at  Cedar  Island  burned  — 
Notes  from  Alexander  Henry  —  Reorganization  of  the  company  —  De- 
fects of  first  association  —  Gloomy  prospects  of  new  company  —  War 
of  1812  —  Revival  of  the  trade  after  the  war  —  Death  of  Lisa  —  Joshua 
Pilcher  succeeds  Lisa  —  Trade  carried  to  upper  Yellowstone  —  Jones 
and  Immel  sent  to  Three  Forks  —  Meeting  with  the  Blackfeet  —  Am- 
bushed by  the  Blackfeet  —  Jones  and  Immel  slain  —  Suspicion  of  Brit- 
ish intrigue  —  Company  withdraws  from  the  trade  of  the  upper  river  — 
Pilcher's  tour  of  the  Hudson  Bay  posts  —  Missouri  Fur  Company  ex- 
tinct —  Biographical  notes. 

'^^HE  return  of  Lisa  in  the  summer  (probably  August)  of. 
^^  1808  and  the  reports  brought  back  concerning  the  re- 
sources of  the  upper  country  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
the  St.  Louis  traders,  and  led  to  the  formation  of  a  trading 
company  which  included  nearly  all  the  prominent  business 
men  in  the  city.  It  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  the 
St.  Louis  Missouri  Fur  Company,  but  was  generally  known 
as  the  Missouri  Fur  Company.^  The  members  of  the  new 
company  in  the  order  in  which  their  names  appear  in  the 

*  This  was  a  popular  name  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  and 
was  applied  to  several  different  associations  of  St.  Louis  traders  which 
succeeded  each  other  in  the  early  commerce  of  the  Missouri.  The  first 
of  these  was  formed  at  the  suggestion  of  Zenon  Trudeau,  "  governor  of 
the  western  part  of  the  Illinois,"  who  on  May  12,  1794,  assembled  the 
traders  of  St.  Louis  and  advised  the  formation  of  a  company  not  only 


138  ARTICLES    OF    ASSOCIATION. 

record,  were:  Benjamin  Wilkinson,  Pierre  Chouteau,  Sr., 
Manuel  Lisa,  Auguste  Chouteau,  Jr.,  Reuben  Lewis,  Wil- 
liam Clark,  Sylvester  Labadie,  all  of  St.  Louis  ;  Pierre 
Menard  and  William  Morrison,  of  Kaskaskia,  Illinois; 
Andrew  Henry,  of  Louisiana,  Missouri,  and  Dennis  Fitz 
Hugh,  of  Louisville,  Kentucky. 

The  articles  of  association  prescribed  in  much  detail  the 
proposed  methods  of  conducting  the  company's  business, 
and  defined  the  duties  of  the  several  partners.  Lisa  and 
Wilkinson  were  designated  as  the  factors  to  trade  with  the 
Indians  and  General  Clark  was  made  the  company's  agent 
in  St.  Louis.  No  member  was  permitted  to  trade  on  his  pri- 
vate account.  The  term  during  which  the  various  asso- 
ciates were  to  reside  in  the  Indian  country  without  returning 
to  St.  Louis  was  fixed  at  three  years,  except  that  those  mem- 
bers who  were  permitted  first  to  return  home  could  do  so  the 
following  year.  Pierre  Chouteau,  Manuel  Lisa,  and  Pierre 
Menard  were  to  be  the  first  to  enjoy  this  privilege  ;  Benja- 
min Wilkinson  and  Auguste  Chouteau  the  next.  The  new 
association  bought  out  the  stock  and  equipments  of  the  late 
firm  of  Lisa,  Menard  and  Morrison  and  likewise  purchased 
their  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bighorn  river. 

An  important  feature  of  the  articles  relates  to  a  contract  ^ 

to  control  the  trade  of  the  Missouri,  but  to  extend  geographical  and 
scientific  knowledge  as  well.  A  company  was  formed  accordingly,  but 
it  soon  failed  owing  to  the  fraudulent  conduct  of  one  of  its  members. 

Another  firm  of  some  prominence  was  founded  in  1802  by  Manuel 
Lisa,  Francis  M.  Benoit,  Gregoire  Sarpy,  and  Charles  Sanguinet.  It 
continued  only  for  a  few  years,  when,  in  1807,  Lisa,  Menard,  and  Mor- 
rison organized  the  company  already  described,  which  was  soon  merged 
with  the  St.  Louis  Missouri  Fur  Company. 

The  record  of  the  Articles  of  Association  of  the  St.  Louis  Missouri 
Fur  Company  may  still  be  seen  in  Book  B,  p  Z72),  in  the  recorder's  office 
in  the  city  of  St.  Louis. 

*  There  is  a  singular  discrepancy  in  the  dates  of  these  two  instru- 
ments. The  articles  of  association  were  signed  May  9th,  1809,  and  the 
contract  February  24th,  although  the  latter  refers  to  the  former  as 
already  in  existence. 


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RETURN    OF    MANDAN    CHIEF.  1 39 

between  Governor  Meriwether  Lewis  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  and  the  members  of  the  new  company  for 
transporting  to  his  tribe  the  Mandan  chief  who  had  not  yet 
gone  home.  The  principal  items  in  this  interesting  docu- 
ment were  the  following:  The  company  agreed  to  en- 
gage one  hundred  and  twenty-five  men,  of  whom  forty 
should  be  "  Americans  and  expert  riflemen,"  to  constitute  a 
body  of  militia  of  the  territory  of  Missouri  for  the  specific 
purpose  of  escorting  the  Mandan  chief  home,  after  which 
they  were  to  be  given  their  discharge.  This  force  was  to 
be  suitably  equipped  with  firearms  of  which  there  should 
be  at  least  fifty  rifles.  The  command  of  the  escort  was 
assigned  to  Pierre  Chouteau,  who  had  already  given  evi- 
dence of  his  determined  spirit  in  the  battle  before  the  Aricara 
villages  in  1807.  The  company  was  to  provide  suitable 
quarters  on  the  boat  for  the  chief,  his  wife,  and  child,  the 
interpreter  Jesseaume,  his  wife,  and  child,  and  two  other 
interpreters.  It  bound  itself  to  protect  with  its  utmost 
power  the  chief  and  his  party  from  all  danger  en  route, 
and  to  report  at  once  their  safe  arrival  at  the  Mandan  vil- 
lages. It  was  also  to  transport  the  necessary  presents  to 
the  Indians.  The  start  from  St.  Louis  was  fixed  for  April 
20,  1809,  and  might  not  be  delayed  beyond  May  loth, 
under  a  penalty  of  three  thousand  dollars.  The  compensa- 
tion agreed  upon  for  this  service  was  seven  thousand  dol- 
lars, one-half  to  be  paid  on  the  date  of  starting  and  the 
balance  when  a  report  was  received  of  the  satisfactory  com- 
pletion of  the  journey.  Governor  Lewis  also  agreed  that 
before  the  departure  of  the  expedition  he  would  not  license 
any  other  traders  to  ascend  the  Missouri  higher  than  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Platte. 

The  Missouri  Fur  Company  entered  upon  its  career 
under  the  most  auspicious  circumstances.  The  Louisiana 
Ga::cite  of  March  8,  1809,  referring  to  the  new  association, 
said :  "  It  has  every  prospect  of  becoming  a  source  of  in- 
calculable advantage  not  only  to  the  individuals  engaged 
but  to  the  community  at  large.     Their  extensive  prepara- 


I40  A    CLOSE    CORPORATION. 

tions,  and  the  extensive  force  with  which  they  intend  to 
ascend  the  Missouri,  may  bid  defiance  to  any  hostile  force 
they  may  meet  with.  The  streams  which  descend  from  the 
Rocky  mountains  afford  the  finest  of  hunting,  and  here,  we 
learn,  they  intend  to  build  their  fort." 

The  company  included  the  ablest  traders  of  the  west. 
Its  field  of  operations  embraced  the  whole  watershed  of  the 
Missouri  from  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  upward  —  a  region 
known  to  abound  in  all  the  resources  of  the  chase.  Only 
one  obstacle  was  feared  and  that  was  the  hostility  of  the 
Indians.  To  meet  this  there  was  provided  a  force  consid- 
ered ample  to  repel  any  attacks,  while  it  was  hoped  that  a 
liberal  extension  of  the  trade  would  secure  the  friendship  of 
the  tribes.  The  capitalization  of  the  company  was  not  stat- 
j  ed  in  the  articles  of  association  but  it  is  understood  to  have 
^'^s/  been  $40,000.  The  company  felt  so  confident  of  success, 
/  /and  was  so  determined  to  close  the  door  to  all  but  its  chosen 
few,  that  it  provided  in  one  of  the  articles  that  "  no  person 
shall  hereafter  be  permitted  to  become  a  member  of  this 
company  unless  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  every  mem- 
ber." 

The  first  expedition  of  the  company  numbered  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men  and  carried  suf^cient  merchandise  to 
supply  five  or  six  posts  and  to  equip  as  many  smaller  outfits 
as  should  be  found  desirable.  The  plan  was  to  establish 
several  posts  along  the  river  from  the  Sioux  to  the  Minne- 
tarees,  but  to  take  the  main  part  of  the  expedition  to  Lisa's 
fort  on  the  Yellowstone.  It  was  expected  to  pass  the  first 
winter  in  that  neighborhood  and  then  to  proceed  in  the  fol- 
lowing spring  to  the  Three  Forks  of  the  Missouri,  where  the 
principal  establishment  was  to  be  placed. 

The  expedition  left  St.  Louis  in  the  spring  of  1809^  and 

®  The  date  of  the  departure  is  not  precisely  known.  By  the  terms 
of  the  contract  for  the  return  of  the  Mandan  chief,  the  escort  was  to 
set  out  not  later  than  May  10,  under  pain  of  forfeiture  of  $3,000.  But 
the  last  ration  return  for  the  chief  and  his  interpreters  covers  the  period 
from  February  i,  1809,  to  May  15,  1809,  "the  day  of  his  departure." 
which  would  indicate  that  the  contract  time  was  exceeded.     There  is  no 


THREE    FORKS    OF    THE    MISSOURI.  14! 

proceeded  to  its  destination  without  serious  mishap.  The 
Sioux  threatened  trouble  but  were  deterred  from  actual  dis- 
turbance by  the  formidable  appearance  of  the  party.  The 
Aricaras,  who  were  passed  September  12,  were  very  hos- 
pitable. Doubtless  this  treacherous  tribe  understood  from 
the  strength  of  the  party  that  it  was  expedient  to  put  on  the 
guise  of  friendship.  The  Mandan  villages  were  passed 
September  24.  Parties  had  been  left  to  establish  posts  at 
Cedar  Island  among  the  Sioux,  and  at  the  Aricaras,  Man- 
dans,  and  Minnetarees.  The  main  party  then  went  on  and 
arrived  in  due  time,  probably  toward  the  end  of  October,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Bighorn  river. 

This  portion  of  the  expedition  wintered  in  the  Crow  coun- 
try, for  it  was  too  late  in  the  year  to  establish  a  post  at  the 
Three  Forks.  A  profitable  trading  and  trapping  campaign 
was  carried  on  in  the  fall  and  winter,  and  early  in  the  spring 
of  1810  a  strong  party,  in  which  were  at  least  two  partners, 
Pierre  Menard  and  Andrew  Henry,  set  out  for  the  Three 
Forks  of  the  Missouri.'*  The  temper  of  the  Blackfeet  was 
doubtful,  and  the  party  went  prepared  to  exploit  the  re- 
sources of  the  country  by  means  of  their  own  trappers  in 
case  they  did  not  succeed  in  opening  a  trade  with  the 
Indians. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  party  at  the  Three  Forks  the  erec- 
tion of  a  post  was  promptly  begun  on  the  neck  of  land  be- 
tween the  Jefferson  and  Madison  rivers,  about  two  miles 
above  their  confluence.  In  the  meanwhile  the  trappers 
were  dispersed  to  gather  the  resources  of  this  rich  beaver 
country.  Fortune  at  first  smiled  upon  them  most  encour- 
agingly.    It  was  evident  that  they  were  in  the  midst  of  vir- 

notice  of  the  departure  in  the  Gazette,  but  there  is  a  notice  of  the  re- 
turn of  messengers  who  were  sent  back  from  the  Mandans  to  report 
the  arrival  of  the  expedition  at  that  point.  These  messengers  stated 
that  the  expedition  arrived  at  its  destination  September  24,  loi  days  out 
from  St.  Louis,  which  would  indicate  June  15  as  the  day  of  departure. 
It  is  probable  that  the  military  escort  set  out  first  and  that  the  trading 
expedition  followed  some  weeks  later. 

^  For  an  extended  description  of  this  remarkable  spot  see  Part  V., 
Chapter  II. 


142  WAR    WITH    THE    BLACKFEET. 

gin  territory  unsurpassed  in  its  wealth  of  beaver.  The  daily 
catch  was  heavy  and  the  prospect  was  excellent  that  the 
company  would  take  out  from  the  Three  Forks  fully  three 
hundred  packs  of  beaver  the  first  year. 

In  the  midst  of  this  sunshine  of  prosperity  a  black  storm 
of  disaster  broke  upon  the  unsuspecting  company.  It  was 
the  morning  of  the  12th  of  April  and  the  trappers  as  usual 
had  gone  to  examine  their  traps  when  a  band  of  Blackfeet  ^ 
came  down  upon  them  with  the  suddenness  of  a  lightning 
flash.  Before  the  least  warning  could  be  given  five  of  the 
men  were  killed,  and  all  their  horses,  guns,  ammunition, 
traps,  and  furs  were  stolen.  Only  two  of  the  Indians  are 
known  to  have  been  killed.  This  most  unfortunate  affair 
spread  gloom  and  discouragement  throughout  the  camp,  and 
It  was  with  difficulty  that  the  men  could  be  induced  to  re- 
sume their  work.  It  was  necessary  to  adopt  a  different  and 
much  more  expensive  system  by  which  a  large  proportion  of 
the  trappers  were  to  remain  at  a  central  camp,  while  those 
tending  the  traps  should  keep  closer  together. 

One  of  the  great  difficulties  of  the  situation  was  to  open 
any  communication  with  the  Blackfeet  whereby  peace  might 
be  sought.  The  Indians  were  so  intensely  hostile  that  there 
seemed  to  be  no  possibility  of  an  interview  except  at  the 
rifle's  mouth.  To  get  over  this  difficulty  Pierre  Menard 
proposed  to  make  a  visit  to  the  Flathead  and  Snake  Indians 
with  a  view  of  inducing  them  to  join  in  a  war  upon  the 
Blackfeet  until  they  could  obtain  a  prisoner.  Him  they 
would  dispatch  to  his  people  with  propositions  of  peace 
which  it  was  thought  could  be  obtained  on  condition  of  es- 
tablishing a  trading  post  on  the  Missouri  below  the  Great 
Falls.*^     But   before    Menard    could    carry   this    ingenious 

"*  Grosventres  of  the  Prairie.  For  an  account  of  this  tribe  and  why 
they  were  constantly  confounded  with  the  Blackfeet,  see  Part  V.,  chap- 
ter IX. 

*  Letter  from  Pierre  Menard  to  Pierre  Chouteau,  dated  Three  Forks 
of  the  Missouri,  April  21,  1810.  This  most  interesting  and  valuable 
document,  sole  surviving  relic  of  the  fort  at  the  Three  Forks  of  the 
Missouri,  is  given  in  Appendix  A. 


DROUILLARD    SLAIN.  I43 

scheme  into  effect,  and  only  two  days  after  he  had  written 
of  it  to  St.  Louis,  the  Blackfeet  fell  upon  the  party  again. 
The  result  of  this  attack  is  not  known,  but  it  was  evidently 
not  such  as  to  encourage  Menard  to  remain  in  the  country. 
He  must  have  left  within  a  month  afterward,  for  he  was 
back  in  St.  Louis  "a  few  days"  before  July  26,  iSio."^ 

Before  Menard  started  for  St.  Louis,  however,  another 
unfortunate  encounter  with  the  Blackfeet  had  taken  place  in 
which  fell  an  important  man  for  the  company's  service, 
George  Drouillard,  who  has  already  been  introduced  in  these 
pages.  Early  in  May  Drouillard  with  several  Delaware  In- 
dians in  the  employ  of  the  company  went  out  to  hunt,  con- 
trary to  the  advice  of  the  rest  of  the  party,  who  believed 
that  Indians  were  prowling  in  the  neighborhood.  Their 
fears  were  quickly  realized.  Drouillard  had  not  gone  two 
miles  when  his  party  was  ambushed  by  the  Blackfeet  ^  and 
himself  and  two  of  his  companions  killed.  From  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  scene  of  this  attack  it  was  apparent  that 
Drouillard  made  a  desperate  defense.  He  seems  to  have 
used  his  horse  as  a  breastwork,  turning  him  so  as  to  shield 
himself  constantly  from  the  enemy.  It  was  but  a  short 
time  until  the  horse  was  killed  and  he  himself  was  the  next 
victim.  A  most  painful  feature  of  this  affair  was  that  it 
took  place  within  ordinary  hearing  distance  of  relief,  but 
owing  to  a  high  wind  prevailing  at  the  time,  the  firing  was 
not  heard. 

It  was  now  apparent  that  the  expectations  of  the  com- 
pany were  not  to  be  realized.  Many  of  the  hunters  had  re- 
solved to  leave,  and  it  was  decided  that  Pierre  Menard 
should  accompany  them  and  take  down  the  furs,  about 
thirty  packs,  which  had  so  far  been  collected.  The  rest  of 
the  party  under  the  command  of  Andrew  Henry  remained 
at  Three  Forks. 

From  this  time  on  the  difficulties  of  the  hunters  increased. 

'  See  the  Louisiana  Gazette  of  this  date. 

'  These  were  probably  the  band  called  the  Blood  Indians.     See  Part 
v..  Chapter  IX. 


144  HENRY    CROSSES    THE    DIVIDE. 

There  seemed  no  possibility  of  negotiating  with  the  Black- 
feet  who  hung  constantly  in  the  neighborhood  attacking 
every  party  over  which  they  felt  certain  of  having  the  ad- 
vantage. The  whole  plan  of  operations  of  the  company 
in  that  quarter  was  broken  up.  Trapping,  which  was  profit- 
able only  when  carried  on  in  small  detached  parties,  had  to 
be  suspended.  Even  with  the  utmost  precaution  it  is  said 
that  between  twenty  and  thirty  men  lost  their  lives.  What 
transpired  at  this  post  during  the  rest  of  the  season  of  1810 
we  do  not  certainly  know,  except  that,  before  the  summer 
was  over,  a  party  of  about  twenty  hunters  met  and  repulsed 
an  attack  of  about  two  hundred  Blackfeet.  The  hunters 
made  good  their  retreat  with  the  loss  of  only  one  man,  but 
claimed  to  have  killed  about  twenty  of  the  Indians. 

The  course  of  events  during  the  summer  made  it  evident 
that  this  post^  would  have  to  be  given  up.  Not  wishing  to 
retire  from  the  country  altogether,  Henry  abandoned  the 
position  some  time  during  the  fall  of  1810,  moved  south 
across  the  Continental  Divide,  and  established  himself  on 
the  north  fork  of  Snake  river,  which  has  been  known  since 
that  time  as  Henry  Fork.  One  account  states  that  in  cross- 
ing the  mountains  he  lost  a  part  of  his  horses  at  the  hands 
of  the  Crows.  He  built  a  temporary  post  consisting  of  a 
few  log  houses  at  a  point  near  where  the  village  of  Egin, 
Idaho,  now  stands.  This  was  the  first  trading  post  ever 
built  in  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  or  west  of  the  Continental 
Divide. 

In  their  new  position  the  little  band  was  scarcely  more 
fortunate  than  in  the  one  they  had  just  left.  They  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  molested  by  ihe  Indians,  but  they  found 
almost  no  game.  A  severe  winter  ensued,  with  deep  snows 
and  heavy  spring  rains,  and  the  party  could  scarcely  find 
means  to  keep  themselves  alive.  They  were  compelled  to 
subsist  mainly  on  horse  flesh.  They  succeeded,  however, 
in  securing  some  forty  packs  of  beaver. 

*For  a  more  extended  reference  to  this  post,  see  list  of  trading  posts 
in  Appendix  F. 


FORT    IlEXRV    ABANDONED.  1 45 

By  the  time  the  spring  of  1811  had  come  the  party  were 
thoroughly  dispirited  and  could  no  longer  be  held  together. 
They  separated  into  groups  and  set  out  in  various  directions, 
some  toward  the  Spanish  possessions,  some  east  over  the 
mountains,  while  Henry  himself  resolved  to  abandon  the 
post  and  depart  with  the  winter's  returns  for  the  lower  river. 
Several  of  these  bands  of  hunters  will  reappear  in  the  course 
of  this  narrative.  Some,  no  doubt,  never  again  saw  the 
frontier,  but  perished  in  the  wilderness,  yet  such  was  the 
capacity  for  self-preservation  possessed  by  these  virile  and 
hardy  adventurers  that  most  of  them  sooner  or  later  found 
their  way  back. 

It  is  not  known  by  which  of  the  two  rivers,  the  Missouri 
or  the  Yellowstone,  Henry  made  his  descent  in  the  spring 
of  181 1,  but  probably  by  the  Yellowstone;  nor  what,  if  any, 
remarkable  adventure  he  experienced.  Lisa  ascended  the 
river  that  spring  to  wait  for  him.  He  visited  the  Mandan 
villages,  and  then  went  back  to  the  Aricaras,  where  he  re- 
mained until  he  was  joined  by  Henry  some  time  after  the 
middle  of  July.^^ 

Thus  ended  in  failure  the  project  upon  which  the  com- 
pany had  mainly  relied.  In  the  meanwhile  the  post  at  the 
Bighorn  had  been  abandoned  and  the  company  had  with- 
drawn all  its  parties  from  above  the  Mandans.  This,  how- 
ever, was  not  the  sum  of  the  company's  disasters.  In  the 
spring  of  1810  Auguste  Chouteau  set  out  for  St.  Louis  with 
the  intention  of  taking  down  the  furs  thai  had  been  collected 
below  the  Mandans.  Just  before  he  reached  Cedar  Island 
the  post  at  that  point  was  burned  wath  furs  estimated  to 
be  worth  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  Add  to  these  misfor- 
tunes the  fact  that  furs  were  at  this  time  bringing  but  little 
more  than  half  their  normal  market  price, ^^  and  the  outlook 
for  the  company  was  discouraging  enough.  But  in  spite 
of  these  reverses,  it  is  stated  that  the  company  arrived  at  the 

"  For  biographical  sketch  of  Andrew  Henry  see  Chapter  XV.  of  this 
part. 

"  The  price  of  beaver  was  about  $2.50  per  pound,  as  against  a  normal 
rate  of  $4.00  per  pound. 


T46  SIDE    LIGHTS    FROM    ALEXANDER    HENRY. 

term  of  its  existence  without  any  loss  and  with  a  small 
profit,  having  saved  its  original  capital  in  addition  to  such 
posts  as  were  upon  the  upper  rivers. -^^ 

Although  the  articles  of  association  specified  the  full  term 
of  three  years  from  March  9,  1809,  as  the  period  of  the  com- 
pany's existence,  a  reorganization  was  effected  on  the  24th 
of  January,  1812,  and  the  property  of  the  old  company  was 
sold  on  the  15th  of  the  following  month.     The  new  com- 

"  Some  interesting  sidelights  upon  these  events  on  the  upper  Mis- 
souri have  come  to  light  in  the  recently  published  journals  of  Alexander 
Henry.  From  them  it  appears  that  the  Blackfeet  robbed  the  whites 
of  some  beaver  in  1808  and  brought  them  to  the  British  posts  to  trade. 
This  probably  refers  to  their  attack  on  Colter  and  Potts.  They  under- 
took to  repeat  their  tactics  in  1809,  but  were  not  successful.  Early  in 
the  spring  of  1810  the  Blackfeet  were  defeated  by  the  Crows  near  Lisa's 
fort  on  the  Yellowstone.  The  following  extract  relates  to  the  affairs 
at  the  Three  Forks  in  the  summer  of  1810:  "  While  on  a  war  excursion 
last  summer  these  people  [the  Falls  Indians  or  Gros  Ventres  of  the 
Prairies]  fell  upon  a  party  of  Americans  whom  they  confess  that  they 
murdered,  and  robbed  of  considerable  booty  in  utensils,  beaver  skins,  etc. 
Some  of  the  beaver  skins,  I  observed,  were  marked  Valley  and  Jum- 

mell  with  different  numbers  —  8,  15,  etc The  Bloods  were 

at  war  on  the  Missouri  about  the  same  time  as  the  Falls  Indians. 
They  also  fell  upon  a  party  of  Americans,  murdered  them  all,  and 
brought  away  considerable  booty  in  goods  of  various  kinds,  such  as 
fine  cotton  shirts,  beaver  traps,  hats,  knives,  dirks,  handkerchiefs,  Rus- 
sia sheeting  tents,  and  a  number  of  bank  notes,  some  signed  New 
Jersey  and  Trenton  Banking  Company.  From  the  description  the 
Bloods  gave  of  the  dress  and  behavior  of  one  whom  they  murdered, 
he  must  have  been  an  officer  or  trader;  they  said  he  killed  two  Bloods 
before  he  fell.  This  exasperated  them,  and  I  have  reason  to  suppose 
they  butchered  him  in  a  horrible  manner  and  then  ate  him  partly  raw, 
and  partly  boiled.  They  said  his  skin  was  exceedingly  white  and  tat- 
tooed from  the  hips  to  the  feet." 

Valley  and  Jummell  are  Valle  and  Immel,  who  were  apparently  free 
trappers  in  company  with  the  main  expedition.  It  is  possible  that  the 
officer  or  trader  referred  to  was  Drouillard,  whose  tragic  death  has 
already  been  noticed. 

In  March.  181 1,  some  Picgans  reported  that  they  had  lately  seen  a 
fort  on  the  Yellowstone  "  inhabited  by  white  people."  This  would  in- 
dicate that  Lisa's  fort  was  not  abandoned  until  the  spring  of  181 1, 
and  that  Henry  went  that  way  when  he  left  Snake  river  and  took  the 
garrison  and  property  along  with  him. 


1 


DEFECTS    OF    THE    FIRST    ASSOCIATION.  1 4/ 

pany  was  made  up  from  the  members  of  the  old,  but  did  not 
include  them  all.  The  capital  was  fixed  at  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  of  which  twenty-seven  thousand  was  accepted  in 
funds  and  property  of  the  late  company,  and  the  balance 
was  raised  by  subscription. 

Looking  back  from  this  distance  at  the  history  of  the  St. 
Louis  Missouri  Fur  Company,  it  is  apparent  that  the  pri- 
mary cause  of  its  failure  was  the  top-heavy  character  of  its 
organization.  Capitalized  at  less  than  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars, it  embraced  every  trader  of  distinction  in  St.  Louis,  all 
of  whom  bore  an  active  part  in  the  administration  of  affairs 
either  at  home  or  in  the  field.  It  was  not  to  be  expected 
that  such  an  arrangement  could  be  as  effective  as  if  a  single 
individual  had  controlled  its  management.  Another  error 
on  the  part  of  the  St.  Louis  traders  was  their  unwillingness 
to  permit  Mr.  Astor  to  have  any  share  in  their  business. 
They  excluded  the  very  man  who  would  have  been  able  to 
carry  them  through  their  initial  misfortunes  to  ultimate  suc- 
cess. The  great  confidence  of  the  St.  Louis  merchants,  and 
their  determination  to  keep  this  new  and  rich  field  of  enter- 
prise to  themselves,  is  well  attested  by  the  fact  that  the  orig- 
inal company  was  a  kind  of  close  corporation  into  which 
admission  was  impossible,  except  by  the  unanimous  con- 
sent of  the  members.  Under  the  reorganization  the  door 
was  in  some  degree  opened  to  the  public  by  giving  the  asso- 
ciation the  character  of  a  joint  stock  company.  But  even 
then  there  was  strenuous  opposition  to  letting  the  stock  get 
out  of  the  hands  of  St.  Louis  parties,  and  a  proposition  to 
admit  Mr.  Astor  to  the  extent  of  five  shares  was  rejected.^^ 

"  The  following  extract  is  from  a  letter  from  Charles  Gratiot  to 
John  Jacob  Astor,  and  throws  some  valuable  light  upon  the  workings 
of  the  St.  Louis  traders.  It  was  written  December  14,  181 1.  "I  have 
been  engaged  for  some  time  past  in  the  settlement  and  dissolution  of 
the  Missouri  Fur  Company.  I  acted  as  agent  for  one  of  my  relations 
who  was  absent.  At  the  request  of  all  the  parties  I  was  chosen  to  draw 
the  articles  for  a  new  act  of  association,  which  I  have  made,  but  which 
will  not  be  determined  upon  before  next  month.  The  capital  of  the 
present  company  with  a  moderate  valuation  is  estimated  at  30  thou- 


148  GLOOMY    OUTLOOK. 

The  prospects  of  the  new  company  were  far  from  flatter- 
ing. The  threatening  aspect  of  affairs,  already  in  the 
shadow  of  approaching  war,  had  its  influence  upon  busi- 
ness even  in  the  Far  West.  Communication  with  the  East 
by  way  of  New  Orleans  would  soon  be  interrupted.  All 
the  Indian  tribes  within  reach  of  British  influence  would 
most  likely  become  disaffected  towards  Americans.  The 
fur  market  would  be  cut  off  in  large  part  and  the  price  of 
furs  would  fall  still  further.  On  the  whole  the  company 
would  have  been  wise  to  have  gone  out  of  business  alto- 
gether. 

Notwithstanding  this  unfavorable  outlook,  an  expedition 
was  fitted  out  with  eleven  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  mer- 
chandise, and  two  boats  were  sent  up  the  river  under  the 
personal  charge,  as  usual,  of  Manuel  Lisa.  On  the  27th  of 
September  the  returns  of  the  previous  year's  trade  reached 
St.  Louis,  but  fell  short  of  expectation.  The  business  of 
the  following  year  was  also  unsatisfactory,  and  in  the 
autumn  of  181 3  the  board  of  directors  issued  another  call  for 
a  meeting  of  the  stockholders  for  the  purpose  of  dissolving 
the  company.  Whether  the  company  was  actually  dis- 
solved, or  only  reorganized  does  not  appear.  It  is  only 
known  that  the  business  continued  under  a  company  of 

sand  dollars,  divided  in  ten  equal  shares.  I  have  proposed  to  extend 
the  ten  shares  to  fifteen,  Mrhich  will  give  an  additional  sum  of  fifteen 
thousand  dollars  to  the  original  stock;  that  an  offer  should  be  made  to 
you  of  the  five  shares  with  proposition  that  you  should  contract  to  fur- 
nish on  commission  the  equipments  necessary  for  the  trade  of  the 
upper  Missouri,  and  to  make  the  sales  of  the  furs  which  would  be  re- 
ceived in  return.  This  proposition  has  met  with  the  approbation  of 
some  of  the  members,  but  I  fear  will  be  opposed  by  others.  When  I 
made  this  proposition  I  contemplated  that  you  wished  to  draw  the  fur 
trade  into  your  hands.  In  this  view  I  considered  that  you  would  be 
of  great  service  to  each  other,  or  likewise  the  measure  might  facilitate 
the  operations  of  Mr.  Hunt,  as  you  could  by  that  means  have  a  commu- 
nication open  from  this  place  to  the  Columbia." 

We  shall  again  have  occasion  to  refer  to  the  far-sighted  suggestion 
with  which  this  extract  closes.  Had  the  counsels  of  Charles  Gratiot 
prevailed,  the  course  of  the  American  fur  trade  would  have  been  quite 
different  from  what  it  was. 


REVIVAL    OF    TRADE.  1 49 

which  Lisa  was  the  principal  member  and  from  which  most 
of  the  old  members  were  now  absent. 

The  operations  of  the  fur  trade  are  almost  wholly  devoid 
of  interest  during  the  next  six  years.  The  War  of  1812 
absorbed  the  energies  and  attention  of  the  people,  and  Lisa 
seems  to  have  been  the  only  active  trader  on  the  Missouri. 
The  company  was  commonly  spoken  of  as  "  Manuel  Lisa 
and  Company,  "  and  all  contemporary  references  to  the  fur 
trade  are  simply  accounts  of  Lisa's  operations.  The  organ- 
ization underwent  further  changes  in  1814  and  again  in 
181 7,  but  what  they  were  is  not  known. 

It  was  during  the  War  of  181 2  and  possibly  as  a  conse- 
quence of  it  that  Lisa  withdrew  his  establishments  from  the 
upper  river  and  concentrated  them  at  Council  Bluffs,  where 
he  built  his  noted  trading  post  of  Fort  Lisa.  Here  he 
spent  the  greater  part  of  his  time  for  several  years  and  evi- 
dently maintained  an  important  establishment.  As  affairs 
began  to  assume  a  normal  aspect  after  the  war  he  gradually 
extended  his  operations  up  the  river  as  far  as  to  the  Man- 
dans.  His  trade  attained  considerable  magnitude,  to  judge 
from  notices  of  the  annual  arrival  of  his  furs  in  St.  Louis,  in 
which  a  cargo  worth  thirty-five  thousand  dollars  is  once 
mentioned  and  others  are  referred  to  as  valuable.  Business 
had  so  far  revived  by  1818  that  Lisa  began  to  consider  again 
the  question  of  attempting  to  establish  a  trade  at  the  head- 
waters of  the  Missouri  and  even  beyond  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. 

In  1 819  the  company  underwent  another  reorganization, 
the  last  with  which  Lisa  was  connected.  The  members  were 
Manuel  Lisa,  president,  Thomas  Hempstead,  Joshua  Pilcher, 
Joseph  Perkins,  Andrew  Woods,  Moses  Carson,  John  B. 
Zenoni,  Andrew  Drips,  and  Robert  Jones. —  not  a  name 
of  those  who  founded  the  original  company  ten  years  be- 
fore except  that  of  Lisa,  but  in  their  place  several  new  names 
destined  to  prominence  in  the  fur  trade.  This  was  the  year 
of  the  celebrated  Yellowstone  expedition.^"* 

"See  Part  III.,  Chapter  II. 


150  JOSHUA    PILCHER    SUCCEEDS    LISA. 

Lisa's  career  was  now  drawing  to  a  close.  He  was  taken 
ill  about  August  i,  1820,  in  St.  Louis,  and  died  there  on 
the  1 2th  of  that  month.  In  his  death  the  Missouri  Fur 
Company  lost  its  chief  spirit,  and  itself  survived  only  a  few 
years  longer.  ^^ 

After  Lisa's  death  Joshua  Pilcher  succeeded  to  the  man- 
agement of  the  company.  He  was  a  worthy  successor  to 
the  great  trader,  possessing  his  breadth  of  view,  his  tireless 
energy,  and  being  withal  a  man  of  upright  character  and 
high  standing  among  his  fellows.  He  proceeded  at  once 
to  develop  the  project  which  Lisa  had  formed,  of  carrying 
the  trade  to  the  upper  rivers,  and  his  first  attempts  were 
fairly  successful.  In  the  fall  of  1821  he  established  a  post 
named  Fort  Benton  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bighorn  river,  the 
site  of  the  last,  as  it  had  been  of  the  first,  post  built  by  the 
Missouri  Fur  Company.  In  the  spring  of  1822  a  large  ex- 
pedition under  Jones  and  Immel,  consisting  of  "  180  ad- 
venturers," left  St.  Charles  for  the  upper  river.  The  com- 
pany had  now  about  three  hundred  men  in  the  mountains, 
and  their  operations  were  meeting  with  good  results.  In 
the  fall  of  1822  about  twenty-five  thousand  dollars'  worth 
of  furs  was  sent  to  St.  Louis.  A  Missouri  paper  referred 
to  this  expedition  as  the  "  first  adventure  to  the   Rocky 

"  Lisa's  death  occurred  on  the  eve  of  the  real  revival  of  the  St. 
Louis  fur  trade.  The  following  list  of  companies  doing  business  on 
the  Missouri  in  1819  will  show  the  condition  of  the  trade  at  that  time: 

The  Missouri  Fur  Company,  capital  $17,000;  traded  with  Pawnees, 
Omahas,  Otoes,  Sioux  and  lowas ;  principal  establishment  at  Ft.  Lisa, 
Council   Blufifs. 

Cerre  and  Francis  Chouteau,  capital  $4,000;  traded  with  Osages  and 
Kansas ;  trading  house  at  mouth  of  Kansas. 

Other  traders  by  the  name  of  Chouteau  traded  principally  with  the 
Osages,  having  a  capital  of  about  $6,000. 

Robidoux  and  Papin,  in  company  with  Choureau  and  Berthold,  cap- 
ital $12,000;  traded  with  the  same  tribes  as  did  the  Missouri  Fur  Com- 
pany.    Their  principal  establishment  was  at  Nishnabotna. 

Pratte  and  Vasquez ;  capital  $7,000 ;  traded  with  the  same  tribes ; 
house  near  the  Omaha  village. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  while  the  first  of  these  companies  is  evidently  the 
most  important,  none  of  them  were  doing  a  large  business. 


JONES    AND    IMMEL    AT    THREE    FORKS.  I5I 

Mountains  "  since  the  revival  of  the  fur  trade.  At  this 
time  the  prospect  was  good  that  the  Missouri  Fur  Company 
would  reap  the  rich  harvest  which  fell  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain Fur  Company  a  few  years  later.  But  the  same  fatality 
which  destroyed  the  hopes  of  the  first  Missouri  Fur  Com- 
pany in  that  region  was  destined  soon  to  destroy  the  pros- 
pects of  the  last. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1823  Jones  and  Immel  set  out  from 
Fort  Benton  with  a  large  party  for  the  upper  Missouri,  to 
carry  out  Pilcher's  plan  of  opening  up  a  trade  with  the 
Blackfeet.  Their  instructions  were  to  "  use  every  effort 
to  obtain  a  friendly  interview  with  the  Blackfeet,  to  incur 
any  reasonable  expense  for  the  accomplishment  of  that  ob- 
ject, and  to  impress  them  with  the  friendly  disposition  of 
American  citizens  toward  them,  and  with  the  true  object  of 
their  visiting  the  country."  The  party  reached  the  Three 
Forks  of  the  Missouri  in  due  time,  and  remained  there  un- 
til the  middle  of  May,  meanwhile  trapping  the  Jefferson 
Fork  nearly  to  its  source.  They  were  somewhat  disap- 
pointed in  their  hunt,  for  they  found  that  the  Blackfeet  had 
industriously  trapped  these  streams  during  the  past  ten 
years.  They  succeeded,  however,  in  securing  over  thirty 
packs,  which,  with  their  hunt  in  other  sections,  made  fifty- 
two  packs  in  all.  Finally,  May  16,  they  resolved  to  return, 
to  the  Yellowstone,  not  having  come  across  any  Indians; 
but  on  the  following  day,  while  descending  Jefferson  Fork, 
they  met  a  party  of  thirty-eight  Blackfeet.  With  much 
precaution  they  were  permitted  to  approach,  when  one  of 
them  exhibited  a  letter  which  was  written  on  the  leaf  of  a 
notebook,  with  "  Mountain  Park,  1823,"  on  the  top  of  the 
leaf,  and  the  date  "  1820"  on  the  bottom.  It  was  super- 
scribed "  God  save  the  King,"  and  its  substance  was  a  rec- 
ommendation of  the  bearer  as  a  principal  chief  of  his  nation, 
well  disposed  toward  the  whites,  and  in  possession  of  a 
quantity  of  furs.  The  Indians  remained  all  night  with  the 
party,  were  very  friendly,  seemed  to  be  greatly  pleased  at  the 
proposition  to  establish  a  post  below  the  Great  Falls  of  the 


152  PARTY    AMBUSHED. 

Missouri,  and  departed  next  day  with  many  professions  of 
friendship. 

But  Immel  and  Jones  did  not  permit  these  friendly  ap- 
pearances to  throw  them  off  their  guard.  They  knew  the 
treacherous  character  of  the  tribe  and  resolved  to  make 
quick  work  in  getting  out  of  the  country.  They  reached 
the  Yellowstone  in  safety,  descended  it  for  a  considerable 
distance,  and  having  practically  gotten  into  the  Crow  terri- 
tory, felt  themselves  comparatively  safe.  In  the  mean- 
while the  band  of  Blackfeet  whom  they  had  left  on  the  Mis- 
souri promptly  notified  others  of  their  tribe,  and  having  in- 
creased their  number  to  about  four  hundred,  set  out  on 
the  track  of  the  whites.  They  moved  down  the  Yellow- 
stone, got  ahead  of  the  whites,  and  selected  a  natural  posi- 
tion of  great  advantage  for  the  purposes  of  ambush. ^^ 

The  whites  had  been  very  watchful,  particularly  at  night, 
but  made  a  mistake  in  not  having  any  flankers  out  while  on 
the  march.  At  this  point  there  was  a  steep  hill,  washed  by 
the  river  at  its  base,  along  which  the  only  track  was  an  in- 
tricate buffalo  trail,  winding  among  the  rocks  and  trees  and 
so  narrow  that  the  party  had  to  pass  in  single  file.  On  the 
slope  of  the  hill  the  Blackfeet  had  concealed  themselves  for 
the  purpose  of  attacking  the  party  as  soon  as  they  became 
completely  entangled  in  the  defile.  Besides  Immel  and 
Jones,  we  have  the  names  of  two  others  of  the  unfortunate 
party,  William  Gordon  and  a  Mr.  Keemle.  Gordon  had  the 
good  fortune  to  be  sent  on  ahead  that  day  to  hunt,  and 
passed  the  defile  in  advance  of  the  main  party,  the  Indians 
permitting  him  to  pass  lest  they  should  alarm  the  rest  of 
the  party,  if  they  attacked  him.  This  threw  the  party  still 
more  off  their  guard,  for  they  were  close  upon  Gordon's 
trail,  who,  they  might  reasonably  assume,  would  give  the 
alarm  in  case  of  danger. 

**The  site  of  this  battle  ground  is  not  definitely  known.  Lieut. 
Bradley  thought  that  it  was  near  what  is  now  known  as  Bridger 
Creek,  but  it  was  evidently  far  below  that.  From  the  fact  that  the  party 
had  traveled  two  weeks  from  Jefferson  Fork  and  were  within  ten  miles 
of  the  Crow  village  when  they  were  attacked,  and  that  they  reached  the 


JONES    AND    IMMEL    SLAIN.  1 53 

It  was  on  the  last  day  of  May,  1823,  that  the  party,  twen- 
ty-nine in  number,  arrived  at  the  fatal  defile  and  immedi- 
ately commenced  its  passage.  "  The  Indians  did  not  show 
themselves  until  the  rear  of  the  party  had  entered  the  pass, 
when  they  rushed  furiously  upon  them  from  every  rock  and 
bush.  Knowing  Immel  and  Jones,  their  chief  aim  was  first 
to  kill  them.  An  Indian,  supposed  to  be  one  of  their  prin- 
cipals, rushed  boldly  upon  Immel,  covering  himself  with 
his  shield.  Immel.  by  a  well-directed  shot,  brought  him 
down.  His  gun  was  hardly  empty  when  he  was  literally  cut 
to  pieces.  About  thirty  Indians  fired  and  rushed  upon  him 
at  the  same  instant  and  immediately  after  gave  way. 

"  Jones  seized  the  moment,  and  although  he  had  received 
two  severe  wounds,  rallied  and  assembled  his  men,  and  col- 
lected the  scattered  horses,  and  was  pressing  forward  with 
some  prospect  of  success  to  pass  the  defile  and  gain  the  river 
plain  when  the  Indians  rushed  upon  them  with  great  fury. 
They  attacked  the  whites  with  lances,  battle  axes,  scalping 
knives  and  every  weapon  used  by  Indians.  Jones,  pierced 
on  every  side,  fell.  .  .  Nothing  but  defeat  under  such 
circumstances  could  be  looked  for  and  how  so  many  of  them 
escaped  is  indeed  wonderful."^^ 

The  party  lost  nearly  all  their  property,  including  horses, 
traps  and  some  thirty-five  packs  of  beaver,  the  total  loss 
being  estimated  at  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  Of  the  party 
the  two  leaders  and  five  men  were  killed  and  four  wounded. 
The  rest,  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Keemle,  succeeded, 
almost  by  miracle,  in  constructing  a  raft  and  getting  across 
the  river.  They  reached  the  Crow  village  near  the  mouth 
of  Pryor  Fork  the  same  day.  Mr.  Gordon  with  one  man 
here  left  the  party  and  proceeded  to  Fort  Vanderburgh,  the 

Crow  village  after  the  attack,  the  same  day,  and  found  it  near  Pryor 
Fork  of  the  Yellowstone  river,  it  must  be  concluded  that  the  scene  of 
the  disaster  was  not  far  above  the  mouth  of  Pryor  Fork,  probably  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  mouth  of  Canon  Creek,  near  Canon  Station  on  the 
Northern  Pacific  railroad. 

"  Letter  from  Joshua  Pilcher  to  Thomas  Hempstead,  dated  Sep- 
tember 30,   1823. 


154  SUSPICION    OF    BRITISH    INTRIGUE. 

Mandan  post,  where  he  arrived  June  15,  and  wrote  to  Mr. 
Pilcher  of  the  disaster,  Mr.  Keemle  constructed  enough 
bull-boats  to  transport  the  party,  raised  the  cache  of  beaver 
which  had  been  their  fall  hunt  in  the  Crow  country,  and 
made  his  way  safely  to  Fort  Vanderburgh. 

This  disaster  was  a  terrible  blow  to  the  Missouri  Fur 
Company,  and  to  the  hopes  of  Mr.  Pilcher.  His  conduct  of 
the  company's  affairs  had  so  far  been  very  successful.  He 
said  in  a  letter  to  Major  Benjamin  O'Fallon,  dated  Fort  Re- 
covery, Upper  Missouri,  July  23,  1823:  "  This  our  second 
adventure  to  the  mountains,  had  surpassed  my  most 
sanguine  expectations ;  success  was  complete  and  my  views 
were  fulfilled  in  every  respect."  We  can  readily  under- 
stand the  prostration  of  spirit  in  which  he  added :  "  The 
flower  of  my  business  is  gone ;  my  mountaineers  have  been 
defeated,  and  the  chiefs  of  the  party  both  slain." 

Rightly  or  wrongly,  the  Missouri  traders  attributed  these 
acts  of  persistent  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  to  the 
instigation  of  the  British  traders.  It  was  about  the  same 
time  that  Ashley  was  attacked  by  the  Aricaras  and  several 
of  his  men  killed,  while  Henry's  party  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone  suffered  a  similar  though  less  disastrous  expe- 
rience. It  seemed  impossible  that  these  Indians  would  of 
their  own  free  will  maintain  an  attitude  of  such  uncom- 
promising hostility.  Indignation  at  repeated  outrages  may 
have  made  the  American  traders  unduly  suspicious  of  the 
British.  Whether  these  suspicions  were  well  founded  or 
not,  it  was  a  fact  that  the  firearms  with  which  the  Indians 
attacked  the  traders  came  from  across  the  line,  and  the  furs 
which  they  took  from  our  people  quickly  found  their  way 
back  there  in  payment.^^ 

^*  How  deep  was  the  suspicion  of  British  intrigue  in  all  these  mat- 
ters may  be  seen  from  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  by  Major 
O'Fallon  to  General  Atkinson,  dated  July  3,  1823 :  "  I  was  in  hopes 
that  the  British  Indian  Traders  had  some  bounds  to  their  rapacity.  I 
was  in  hopes,  during  the  late  Indian  War,  in  which  they  were  so  in- 
strumental in  the  indiscriminate  massacre  of  our  people,  that  they  were 
completely  saturated  with  our  blood.     But  it  appears  not  to  have  been 


PILCHER    AND    COMPANY.  155 

The  result  of  this  disaster  and  similar  ones  to  Ashley  and 
Henry's  parties  induced  Pilcher  to  withdraw  from  the  trade 
altogether  above  the  Omahas.  He  took  part  in  the  cam- 
paign against  the  Aricaras  with  Colonel  Leavenworth  in 
the  following  August  and  September,^''  and  then  retired  to 
his  main  establishment  at  Council  Bluffs. 

The  company  continued  to  do  business  for  several  years 
under  Pilcher's  direction  and  was  commonly  referred  to  as 
Pilcher  and  Company.  It  probably  operated  to  some  ex- 
tent in  the  mountain  country,  for  Pilcher  has  left  the  state- 
ment that  he  had  several  times  crossed  South  Pass.  Be  that 
as  it  may  the  further  operations  of  the  company  were  of 
little  importance  and  attracted  no  attention  at  the  time. 
The  growing  power  of  the  Western  Department  of  the 
American  Fur  Company  and  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur 
Company  was  gradually  restricting  its  activities,  and  it 
finally  passed  out  of  existence  altogether.  The  termination 
of  its  career  was  marked  by  a  rather  unusual  event  in  which 
the  moribund  company  was  gracefully  bowed  off  the  stage 
of  western  history. 

In  September,  1827,  Mr,  Pilcher  and  a  party  of  forty-five 
men  left  Council  Bluffs  for  Salt  Lake  Valley  with  a  com- 
plete outfit  of  merchandise  and  over  one  hundred  horses. 
The  fame  of  Ashley's  exploits  in  these  regions  was  now  at 
its  height  and  apparently  it  was  Pilcher's  purpose  to  obtain 
a  share  of  the  wealth  of  that  country.     He  took  the  usual 

the  case.  Like  the  greedy  wolf,  not  satisfied  with  the  flesh,  they  quar- 
rel over  the  bones.  They  ravage  our  fields  and  are  unwilling  that  we 
should  glean  them.  .  .  .  Alarmed  at  the  individual  enterprise  of  our 
people,  they  are  exciting  the  Indians  against  them.  They  furnish  them 
with  .  .  .  the  instruments  of  death  and  a  passport  to  our  bosoms. 
Immel  had  great  experience  of  the  Indian  character,  but  (poor  fellow!) 
with  a  British  passport  they  at  last  deceived  him  and  he  fell  a  victim 
to  his  own  credulity ;  and  his  scalp,  and  those  of  his  comrades,  are 
now  bleeding  on  their  way  to  the  British  trading  establishments." 

The  authorities  mainly  relied  upon  in  the  above  narrative  are  Amer- 
ican State  Pafyers,  Indian  Affairs,  vol.  II.,  p.  451  et  seq.,  and  Military 
Affairs,  vol.  II.,  p.  578  et  seq. ;  Senate  Executive  Document  39,  21st 
Congress,  2d  Session. 

"  See  Chapter  III.,  Part  III. 


156  TOUR    OF    THE    NORTHWEST. 

route  via  the  Platte  and  Sweetwater  rivers.  In  the  neigh- 
borhood of  South  Pass  Pilcher's  horses  were  all  stolen  and 
he  was  compelled  to  cache  his  merchandise.  He  then  went 
on  to  Green  river,  where  he  spent  the  following  winter.  In 
the  spring  of  1828  he  sent  a  partner  back  to  the  cache  for  the 
goods,  but  they  were  found  to  have  been  nearly  ruined  by 
water.  The  remnant  saved  was  taken  to  Bear  Lake,  "  then 
a  rendezvous  for  hunters  and  traders."  After  completing 
the  trade,  Pilcher's  partners  and  most  of  the  men  returned  to 
Council  Bluffs,  while  Pilcher  himself,  with  nine  men,  "  com- 
menced a  tour  to  the  northwest  with  a  view  of  exploring 
the  region  of  the  Columbia  river,  to  ascertain  its  attrac- 
tions and  capabilities  for  trade." 

It  was  late  in  July,  1828,  when  he  set  out.  His  course 
was  northwesterly  and  he  stopped  for  the  winter  at  Flat- 
head Lake.  In  February,  1829,  he  resumed  his  journey 
north,  but  had  not  gone  far  when  his  horses  were  stolen. 
Soon  after  he  fell  in  with  some  men  belonging  to  one  of  the 
St.  Louis  traders.  His  own  men  becoming  disheartened, 
he  discharged  all  except  one,  with  whom  he  set  out,  in  com- 
pany with  a  British  trader,  for  Fort  Colville  on  the  Colum- 
bia. He  arrived  at  this  post  September  i,  1829.  Being 
offered  the  protection  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  express 
for  the  east,  he  accepted  and  left  Fort  Colville  on  the  21st 
of  September,  in  company  with  six  men.  He  arrived  at 
Boat  Encampment  (so  called  as  being  the  place  where  the 
boats  are  abandoned  preparatory  to  the  passage  of  the  moun- 
tains) October  4th,  and  remained  there  until  November  2d, 
when  the  express  from  the  east  arrived.  The  party  left 
Boat  Encampment  November  4th,  arrived  at  the  Jasper 
House  on  the  Athabasca,  November  nth,  and  left  there  De- 
cember 17th,  equipped  with  dog  sleds  and  snow  shoes.  On 
the  first  day  of  January.  1830,  they  arrived  at  Fort  Assini- 
boine.  Setting  out  from  this  point  on  the  4th  they  reached 
Edmonton  House,  or  Fort  de  Prairie,  on  the  north  fork  of 
the  Saskatchewan,  in  a  few  days  more.^*^ 

*'*This  post  is  of  particular  interest,  not  only  as  being  one  of  the 


MISSOURI    FUR    COMPANY    EXTINCT,  1 5/ 

Pilcher  left  Fort  de  Prairie  January  15th,  and  passing 
Fort  Pitt,  arrived  at  Carlton  House  on  the  ist  of  February. 
Continuing  his  journey  after  eleven  days'  rest  he  arrived  at 
the  Cumberland  House  the  24th  of  the  same  month,  and  at 
Moose  Lake  March  ist.  He  then  set  out  for  Selkirk's  set- 
tlement in  the  Red  River  valley,  where  he  arrived  March 
26th.  Leaving  that  place  on  the  29th,  and  proceeding  up 
the  Asj-.iniboine  river,  he  reached  Brandon  House  April  4th. 
The  next  day  he  set  out  with  a  half-breed  Indian  for  the 
Mandan  villages  on  the  Missouri,  where  he  arrived  on  the 
22d  of  April.  Here  he  found  Mr.  Sanford,  Indian  sub- 
agent  for  the  upper  Missouri,  Daniel  Lamont,  agent  for  the 
American  Fur  Company,  and  the  German  traveler.  Prince 
Paul  of  Wurtemburg,  who  was  now  on  his  second  visit  of 
exploration  to  the  interior  of  North  America.  Mr.  Pilcher 
arrived  in  St.  Louis  in  June,  1830. 

His  long  expedition  had  given  him  an  acquaintance  with 
the  British  posts  such  as  at  that  time  was  possessed  by  no 
other  American.  He  was  treated  by  the  Hudson  Bay  trad- 
ers with  the  hospitality  so  well  understood  by  that  com- 
pany, but  which,  when  dispensed  to  rival  traders,  was  al- 
ways accompanied  with  a  firm  refusal  to  assist  in  any  way 
in  their  trading  operations. 

It  is  about  at  the  time  of  Pilcher's  return  to  St.  Louis  that 
he  refers  to  himself  as  being  no  longer  in  the  fur  trade,  and 
we  may  count  the  Missouri  Fur  Company  as  now  finally 
extinct.  There  seems  to  be  no  evidence  that  it  was  ever 
bought  out  by  another  company.  It  had  an  existence  under 
one  style  or  another  for  over  twenty-five  years  and  was  the 
most  important  company  that  did  business  from  St.  Louis 
in  the  first  quarter  of  the  century. 

most  important  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  posts,  and  the  distributing 
point  for  the  trade  of  a  large  section  of  country  at  the  eastern  base  of 
the  mountains,  but  it  was  the  post  at  which  the  Blackfeet  traded. 
Even  the  British  found  this  tribe  a  troublesome  one  to  deal  with,  and 
their  post  at  this  point  was  unusually  strong.  Pilcher  says  that 
it  was  a  "  strong  stockade,  with  six  bastions,  and  ten  or  twelve  pieces 
of  small  ordnance." 


158  BIOGRAPHICAL    NOTES. 

Biographical  Notes :  Joshua  Pilcher  was  born  at  Culpeper,  Virginia, 
March  15,  1790;  came  to  St.  Louis  during  War  of  1812;  was  a  hatter  by 
occupation,  but  was  engaged  in  other  pursuits  as  well ;  is  mentioned 
in  1817  as  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Bank  of  St.  Louis.  In  1819  he  en- 
tered the  fur  trade  as  a  member  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company,  of  which 
he  became  president  upon  the  death  of  Manuel  Lisa.  He  remained  at 
the  head  of  the  company  until  its  final  dissolution  between  1828  and 
1830.  Entered  the  service  of  the  American  Fur  Company  in  charge  of 
its  affairs  near  Council  Bluffs,  and  remained  there  about  two  years.  In 
1838  he  succeeded  General  Clark  as  superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  at 
St.  Louis  and  held  the  position  until  his  death,  June  5,  1847. 

Pilcher  is  represented  as  a  man  of  good  ability,  strict  integrity  of 
character,  and  high  standing  in  business  and  social  circles. 

Jones  and  Immel.  These  two  names  are  almost  always  seen  together, 
for  the  reason  that  about  all  that  is  known  of  them  is  their  connection 
with  the  expedition  which  ended  in  their  tragic  death  on  the  Yellow- 
stone in  1823.  Benjamin  O'Fallon  thus  refers  to  them  in  a  letter  to 
General  Clark,  dated  July  7,  1823:  "Jones  [Robert]  was  a  gentleman 
of  cleverness  and  for  many  years  a  resident  of  St.  Louis.  .  .  .  Immel 
[Michael?]  has  been  a  long  time  on  the  river;  formerly  an  officer  in 
the  U.  S.  A. ;  since  then  an  Indian  trader  of  some  distinction.  In  some 
respects  he  was  an  extraordinary  man.  He  was  brave,  uncommonly 
large,  and  of  great  muscular  strength.  When  timely  apprised  of  dan- 
ger, he  was  a  host  in  himself."  This  may  be  the  same  Immel  who  was 
associated  with  Valle  as  a  free  hunter  on  the  upper  Missouri  in  1810, 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CROOKS   AND     MCLELLAN. 

Robert  McLellan  —  Crooks  and  McLellan  form  a  partnership  — 
Turned  back  by  the  Sioux  in  1809  —  Manuel  Lisa  charged  with  bad 
faith  —  Crooks  and  McLellan  join  Pacific  Fur  Company —  Death  of 
McLellan. 

^1  SMALL  trading  company  occasionally  noticed  in  the 
■^^  annals  of  the  time  was  that  of  Ramsay  Crooks  ^  and 
Robert  McLellan,  who  prosecuted  a  trade  on  the  Missouri 
from  1807  to  181 1.  Crooks  had  come  to  America  from 
Scotland  in  1803  and  had  drifted  to  St.  Louis  within  the 
next  three  years,  where  he  saw  and  studied  the  new  field  of 
enterprise  which  the  valley  of  the  Missouri  offered.  Here 
he  met  a  man  suited  to  his  temper  and  ready  to  embark  in 
any  undertaking  that  promised  ordinary  chances  of  success. 
This  was  Robert  McLellan,  one  of  the  most  romantic  char- 
acters in  the  annals  of  the  Western  fur  trade.  He  was  a 
man  of  many  perilous  exploits  and  hairbreadth  escapes,  a 
sure  shot,  a  daring  hunter,  and  altogether  a  superb  example 
of  frontier  manhood.  He  had  greatly  distinguished  him- 
self in  the  early  Indian  wars  under  General  Wayne  in  Ohio, 
and  was  already  a  comparatively  old  man  when  he  crossed 
the  Mississippi  to  penetrate  the  newly  acquired  wilderness 
of  Louisiana.  He  entered  the  trade  of  the  Missouri  imme- 
diately after  the  transfer  of  Louisiana.  In  the  winter  of 
1805  he  was  trading  with  the  Omahas  and  he  told  Lewis 
and  Clark  the  following  summer  that  he  was  opposed  in  this 
trade  by  Joseph  Le  Croix,  a  British  trader  —  so  far  did 

*  A  biographical  sketch  of  this  able  trader  is  given  in  Chapter  XXIIL 
of  this  part. 


l60  PARTNERSHIP    FORMED. 

those  daring  adventurers  of  the  Northwest  Company  push 
their  operations  into  foreign  territory,  McLellan  com- 
plained that  this  competition  compelled  him  to  sell  his  mer- 
chandise at  an  actual  loss,  but  that  he  determined  to  hold 
out  in  the  hope  that  such  interlopers  would  soon  be  driven 
from  the  field. 

It  seems  to  have  been  in  1807  that  McLellan  met  Crooks 
and  formed  a  partnership  with  him.  They  made  up  an  ex- 
pedition of  eighty  men,  and,  with  an  outfit  advanced  on 
shares  (de  moitie)  by  Sylvester  and  Auguste  Chouteau,  they 
set  out  for  the  upper  river  in  the  fall  of  that  year.  On  their 
way  they  met  Ensign  Pryor  returning  to  St,  Louis  with  the 
Mandan  chief  after  his  defeat  by  the  Aricaras,  The  report 
which  Pryor  brought  of  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  Sioux 
and  Aricaras  caused  Crooks  and  IMcLellan  to  turn  back. 
They  established  themselves  near  Council  Bluffs  and  re- 
mained there  until  the  spring  of  1809, 

When  they  saw  the  expedition  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Com- 
pany ascend  the  river  in  the  summer  of  that  year  they  decid- 
ed to  follow.  With  about  forty  men  they  set  out  up  the 
river,  but  ill-luck  attended  their  enterprises.  While  pass- 
ing the  country  of  the  Sioux,  a  band  of  these  Indians,  some 
six  hundred  strong,  appeared  upon  a  high  bank  in  a  con- 
cave bend  of  the  river  and  ordered  the  boats  to  turn  about 
and  land  farther  down  stream.  The  number  of  the  Indians 
was  such  as  to  make  it  out  of  the  question  to  resist  their 
commands,  and  Crooks  and  IMcLellan,  with  feigned  willing- 
ness, turned  about.  They  had  an  interview  with  the  Sioux, 
who  absolutely  forbade  them  to  proceed,  but  agreed  to  trade 
peaceably  with  them  should  they  remain  where  they  were. 

The  party  was  not  strong  enough  to  defy  the  Sioux,  and 
they  accordingly  had  no  alternative  but  to  open  trade  at  that 
point.  Making  a  virtue  of  necessity  they  set  about  erect- 
ing a  post  with  every  appearance  of  good  faith.  Meanwhile 
most  of  the  Indians  went  to  their  village  some  twenty  miles 
away  to  procure  articles  for  trade,  leaving  only  a  small 
guard  behind.     Crooks  and  McLellan  took  advantage  of 


CHARGES    AGAINST    MANUEL    LISA,  l6l 

this  absence  to  carry  out  in  part  the  purpose  of  their  expedi- 
tion and  also  to  revenge  themselves  upon  the  Indians.  They 
clandestinely  sent  a  party  of  hunters  and  trappers  up  the 
river  in  a  canoe  with  directions  to  collect  such  furs  as  they 
could  and  to  await  favorable  opportunities  to  return.  As 
soon  as  this  detachment  was  thought  to  be  well  beyond  the 
hostile  country,  the  partners  broke  up  their  trading  estab- 
lishment very  suddenly,  left  a  message  for  the  Indians  not 
calculated  to  mollify  their  feelings,  and  themselves  made 
their  way  to  their  old  establishment  down  the  river. 

Crooks  and  McLellan  always  claimed  that  this  miscar- 
riage of  their  plans  was  due  to  the  machinations  of  the  St. 
Louis  Missouri  Fur  Company,  whose  active  agent  in  accom- 
plishing it  was  Manuel  Lisa.  They  asserted  that  Lisa,  in 
order  to  facilitate  his  own  passage  through  this  hostile 
country,  had  told  the  Sioux  that  another  expedition  was  on 
its  way  with  the  express  purpbse  of  trading  with  them,  and 
that  they  must  not  permit  it  to  pass.  This  may  or  may  not 
have  been  true.  Certainly  the  character  of  the  traders,  and 
the  measures  often  resorted  to  in  their  competition  are  quite 
in  keeping  with  such  a  course;  but  of  direct  evidence  there 
is  none.  Even  if  it  were  true,  the  motive  w^as  probably  not 
so  much  to  secure  a  free  passage  to  the  Missouri  Fur  Com- 
pany, for  they  had  force  enough  to  secure  that,  as  to  pre- 
vent competition  in  the  upper  country.  There  is  moreover 
some  question  as  to  the  right  of  Crooks  and  McLellan  to 
ascend  the  river  at  this  time.  The  contract  for  the  return  of 
the  Mandan  chief  expressly  stipulated  that  Governor  Lewis 
should  not,  before  the  departure  of  the  expedition,  license 
any  other  traders  to  ascend  the  Missouri  river  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Platte.  Crooks  and  McLellan  could  not  have 
had  any  such  license,  therefore,  unless  they  got  it  after  the 
departure  of  the  expedition,  for  the  licenses  to  trade  were 
generally  renewed  every  year. 

There  is  likewise  no  evidence  that  these  gentlemen  re- 
vealed their  plans  to  Lisa  when  he  passed  up,  although  that 
wily  trader  would  doubtless  have  found  them  out  if  such 


l62  JOIN    THE    PACIFIC    FUR    COMPANY. 

plans  were  then  in  contemplation.  There  was  no  adequate 
reason,  except  personal  pique  and  disappointment  of  ex- 
pected gains,  to  justify  this  extreme  bitterness  against  Lisa. 
Certainly  there  was  nothing  in  Lisa's  action  which  partook 
so  much  of  the  lawlessness  of  the  wilderness  as  did  the  plans 
of  McLellan  for  getting  even  with  him ;  for  he  declared  re- 
peatedly, with  a  manner  that  left  little  doubt  of  his  sincerity, 
that  if  he  ever  caught  Lisa  in  that  part  of  the  country  he 
would  shoot  him  on  the  spot.  How  he  did  so  meet  him, 
and  how  he  failed  to  carry  out  his  threat,  will  be  told  in  our 
account  of  the  Astorian  expedition. 

Disappointed  again  in  their  efforts  to  ascend  the  river, 
Crooks  and  McLellan  returned  to  their  post  near  Council 
Bluffs.  There  is  some  evidence  that  they  made  an  inef- 
fectual attempt  to  establish  a  trade  above  the  Aricaras  in 
1810,  but  it  is  not  conclusive.  In  the  winter  of  1810-11 
both  gentlemen  entered  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  and  joined 
the  overland  Astorian  expedition  under  W.  P.  Hunt.  Their 
own  partnership  thus  came  to  an  end  with  the  year  1810. 

The  further  careers  of  these  two  traders  were  identified 
with  the  Pacific  and  American  Fur  Companies.  After  the 
return  of  McLellan  to  St.  Louis  in  the  spring  of  181 3  he 
quite  disappears  from  public  notice.  The  only  authentic 
reference  to  him  after  this  time  that  has  come  to  light  is  a 
notice  in  a  St.  Louis  paper,  dated  March  15,  181 6,  of  the  ad- 
ministration of  his  estate.  He  therefore  probably  died  in 
St.  Louis,  although  one  account  of  his  life  says  that  it  was 
near  the  Omaha  village  on  the  Missouri  and  another  that  it 
was  at  St.  Genevieve. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

•  ASTORIA. 

ORIGIN  AND  SCOPE  OF  THE  PROJECT. 

Tohn  Tacob  Astor  —  His  early  operations  —  The  Louisiana  Purchase  — 
The  American  Fur  Company  chartered  —  General  plan  of  operations  — 
Organization  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company. 

*IOEFERENCE  has  already  been  made  to  the  fact  that  in 
"^  the  earUer  years  of  United  States  history  there  was  no 
systematic  conduct  of  its  fur  trade  and  no  recognized  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company,  and  allusion  was  made  to  those  obstacles, 
notably  the  possession  of  the  frontier  posts  by  the  British, 
which  for  many  years  deterred  private  enterprise  from  em- 
barking in  that  direction.  It  was  not  until  the  final  evacu- 
ation of  these  posts  that  the  time  was  ripe  for  the  com- 
mencement of  a  distinctively  American  enterprise  of  this 
sort. 

The  opportunity,  when  it  came,  was  seized  upon,  not,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  by  some  native-born  American, 
but  by  a  foreigner  who  had  made  America  his  home  and 
was  just  emerging  into  prominence  in  the  commercial  world. 
John  Jacob  Astor,  although  an  alien  by  birth,  is  one  of 
America's  best  examples  of  self-made  men  —  men  of  hum- 
ble beginnings,  who,  by  sheer  native  ability,  have  risen  to  the 
foremost  rank  in  their  respective  callings.  He  easily  stands 
at  the  head  of  that  ever-expanding  roll  of  financial  geniuses 
which  America  has  produced,  for  although  his  operations, 
measured  by  their  magnitude  alone,  have  been  exceeded  in 
later  times,  the  greater  difficulties  with  which  he  had  to 
contend  make  them  the  most  extraordinary  of  any  in  the 
commercial  history  of  the  United  States. 

Astor  was  born  July  17,  1763,  in  the  village  of  Waldorf 


164  ASTOR    ENTERS    THE    FUR    TRADE. 

near  Heidelburg,  in  the  Duchy  of  Baden,  Germany.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  or  seventeen  he  went  to  London  and  en- 
gaged with  an  elder  brother,  w4io  had  already  established  a 
business  there,  in  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  musical  in- 
struments. After  two  or  three  years  in  London  he  deter- 
mined to  see  if  he  could  not  better  his  fortunes  by  crossing 
the  Atlantic.  He  sailed  in  November,  1783,  taking  with 
him  a  small  stock  of  instruments,  the  proceeds  of  which 
would  be  his  only  capital  to  begin  life  with  in  the  new  world. 
His  ship  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Chesapeake  en  route  for 
Baltimore  in  January,  1784,  but  was  detained  in  the  bay  by 
ice  until  the  following  March.  During  the  tedious  period 
of  waiting  he  had  the  good  luck  to  fall  in  with  a  fur  dealer, 
who  gave  him  much  information  and  advised  him  to  go  to 
New  York  with  his  goods  and  invest  the  proceeds  of  the 
sale  in  furs.  This  Astor  did,  and  having  further  informed 
himself  as  to  the  conditions  and  prospects  of  that  line  of 
business,  he  sailed  for  London  with  his  furs  in  the  early 
summer.  He  disposed  of  them  to  advantage,  gathered  full 
information  regarding  the  fur  markets  of  Europe,  and  re- 
turned to  New  York  before  the  end  of  1784,  having  definite- 
ly resolved  to  make  America  his  home  and  the  fur  trade  his 
business.^ 
/Astor's  career  as  a  fur  merchant  began  in  1784.  His 
^><^traordinary  judgment  of  commercial  conditions,  and  his 
^  remarkable  foresight,  told  him  from  the  first  that  the  fur 
business  had  a  great  future  in  store  for  him.  Even  his 
brief  investigation  of  a  few  months  on  the  occasion  of  his 
first  visit  to  America,  led  him  to  predict,  on  his  return  to 
London,  that  "  when  the  [Canadian]  frontiers  are  surren- 
dered I  will  make  my  fortune  in  the  fur  trade."  His  grasp 
of  the  situation  in  so  short  a  time  is  no  less  remarkable  than 

'  Astor's  subsequent  connection  with  the  fur  trade  is  mostly  given 
in  the  following  pages.  In  his  other  business  and  public  relations 
his  career  is  well  known.  He  became  one  of  America's  wealthiest  men, 
one  of  her  most  progressive  citizens,  and  before  his  death  was  well 
known  throughout  the  world.     He  died  March  29,  1848. 


EARLY    ACHIEVEMENTS.  1 65 

his  confidence  in  his  own  powers,  which  led  him,  on  more 
than  one  occasion,  to  predict  his  future  great  weahh.  With 
the  full  courage  of  his  convictions  he  embarked  in  the  fur 
trade  immediately  upon  his  return  from  London  and  worked 
himself  up  by  rapid  steps  until  by  the  end  of  the  century 
he  had  become  the  leading  fur  merchant  of  the  United 
States  and  probably  the  leading  authority  in  the  w^orld  upon 
that  business.  His  reputation  had  reached  beyond  the  fron- 
tier of  his  adopted  country  and  the  magnates  of  the  fur  trade 
in  Montreal  and  St.  Louis  recognized  in  him  a  formidable 
competitor.^  Astor  had  at  this  time  amassed  a  fortune  of 
perhaps  half  a  million  dollars,  had  become  a  ship  owner,  and 
had  formed  commercial  relations  with  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth.  It  was  a  great  achievement  for  a  man  of  his 
years,  and  for  the  period  in  which  he  lived,  and  it  demon- 
strated his  ability  to  grapple  with  the  highest  problems 
which  the  commercial  world  at  that  time  presented.  Such 
problems  were  soon  to  confront  him.  --^,^ 

Astor's  early  operations  wxre  largely  conducted  at  Mon-  ^ 

treal,  on  account  of  the  restrictions  of  the  existing  tariff.  /] 

He  frequently  visited  that  city,  even  going  to  the  trading 
posts  of  the  interior,  and  thus  familiarizing  himself  with 
the  details  of  his  business  in  all  its  bearings.  As  the  com- 
mercial relations  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  began  to  assume  a  more  favorable  aspect,  and  the 
tariff  laws  of  the  latter  country  became  less  stringent  in  the 
article  of  fine  furs,  he  was  able  to  extend  his  business  fur- 
ther north  along  the  shore  of  the  lakes,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  conduct  it  more  from  New  York  as  a  primary  base  of  op- 
erations. The  course  of  political  affairs  was  working  his 
way  as  the  power  of  his  own  government  became  more  firm- 
ly established.     The  purchase  of  Louisiana  opened  up  an 

"  In  a  letter  dated  at  St.  Louis  April  29,  1800.  addressed  to  Astor, 
the  writer,  Charles  Gratiot,  said:  "You  are  beyond  question  the 
greatest  of  the  fur  merchants.  Your  relations  at  home  and  abroad  give 
you  facilities  which  no  other  house  in  the  United  States  possesses. 
You  are  established  in  the  most  active  city  upon  the  globe  today,  where 
everything  is  to  be  found  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  etc." 


1 66  A    WORLD-WIDE    BUSINESS. 

entirely  new  vista  of  almost  illimitable  scope.  St.  Louis 
thereby  became  an  American  city  and  all  the  country  of 
which  it  was  the  emporium  United  States  territory.  What 
the  extent  of  the  new  acquisition  was,  was  not  definitely 
known,  except  that  it  was  very  great.  Certainly  it  included 
the  immense  watershed  of  the  Missouri,  and  it  was  gener- 
ally considered  that,  if  the  Purchase  itself  did  not  extend 
through  to  the  Pacific,  the  right  of  discovery  gave  America 
a  first  claim  there.  The  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clark 
had  shown  that  this  new  country  abounded  in  furs,  and  thus 
the  business  field  in  which  Mr.  Astor  had  chosen  to  exercise 
his  powers  was  at  a  single  stroke  trebled  in  extent.  More 
than  this,  if  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  were  now,  as  he  evi- 
dently thought,  American  territory,  the  commerce  of  the 
Orient,  that  great  market  for  rich  furs,  was  brought  prac- 
tically to  his  own  door. 

Mr.  Astor  was  not  slow  to  grasp  the  magnitude  of  this 
new  and  unexpected  development.  With  China  a  market 
for  furs  from  the  Pacific  coast,  with  Russian  establishments 
on  the  northwest  coast  which  his  ships  might  supply  as 
an  incident  to  their  main  business,  with  markets  at  home 
for  the  products  of  the  Orient,  with  lines  of  trading 
posts  along  the  Columbia  from  the  sea  to  its  source,  con- 
nected thence  with  the  Missouri,  and  extending  down  that 
stream  to  St.  Louis,  and  from  that  point  by  way  of  the  Great 
Lakes  to  New  York  itself,  Mr.  Astor  saw  that  his  business 
would  indeed  be  world-wide  in  scope  and  international  in 
importance. 

In  exploiting  his  schemes  of  commercial  conquest  Mr. 
Astor  was  early  led  to  entertain  views  regarding  the  expan- 
sion of  American  territory  altogether  in  advance  of  those  of 
our  own  statesmen.  He  believed  not  only  in  the  desirability 
but  the  practicability  of  our  taking  possession  of  the  whole 
Pacific  coast  from  the  Spanish  to  the  Russian  possessions, 
and  he  clearly  saw  in  that  distant  region  the  germ  of  a 
mighty  future  empire.  He  took  the  only  view  which  a  man 
accustomed  to  look  at  things  on  a  broad  scale,  yet  in  a  plain. 


THE    AMERICAN    FUR    COMPANY    CHARTERED.  1 6/ 

matter-of-fact  way,  could  take,  that  it  would  be  better  for 
this  territory  to  be  in  the  possession  of  a  single  power  than 
to  be  parceled  out  among  several.  There  can  be  no  doubt  as 
to  what  power  Mr.  Astor  thought  that  this  should  be. 

His  projects  of  commerce  led  him  into  relations  with  his 
government  which,  it  seems,  heartily  applauded  his  views, 
but  could  lend  him  no  other  aid  than  tacit  encouragement. 
It  is  ever  to  be  lamented  that  President  Madison  did  not  see 
his  way  to  adopt  as  bold  a  course  in  regard  to  Mr.  Astor's 
enterprise  as  did  his  illustrious  predecessor  in  office  in  re- 
gard to  the  purchase  of  Louisiana.  Had  he  done  so  the 
political  map  of  North  America  would  not  be  what  it  is  to- 
day. 

The  greatness  of  Mr.  Astor's  powers  is  nowhere  better 
shown  than  in  his  unhesitating  determination  to  carry  out 
his  schemes  even  without  any  direct  aid  from  the  govern- 
ment. In  the  year  1808,  April  6th,  he  secured  a  charter 
from  the  state  of  New  York  creating  the  American  Fur 
Company.  It  was  the  first  time  that  this  distinctive  national 
name  had  been  stamped  upon  the  great  business  of  the  fur 
trade  —  a  business  peculiarly  identified  throughout  Amer- 
ican history  with  colonial  development  and  expansion.  It 
does  not  appear  that  the  company  was  formed  with  a  view 
to  any  specific  trade,  but  was  rather  a  general  title  to  in- 
clude all  of  Mr.  Astor's  operations.^ 

Assured  of  the  approval  of  the  government,  Mr.  Astor 
proceeded  to  elaborate  his  plans.  The  general  scheme  con- 
templated a  central  establishment  near  the  mouth  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, from  which  the  trade  was  to  be  prosecuted  in  all  di- 
rections in  the  interior.  The  supplies  for  the  establish- 
ment were  to  be  sent  out  from  New  York  in  an  annual  ship, 
which  would  receive  the  returns  of  the  trade,  dispose  of  the 
furs  in  China,  and  return  home  with  goods  for  the  home 

'W.  W.  Astor,  in  a  magazine  article  upon  his  illustrious  ancestor, 
says  that  this  corporate  body  was  simply  a  "fiction  intended  to  broaden 
and  facilitate  his  operations."  The  date  of  the  charter  has  nearly  al- 
ways heretofore  been  given  as  1809. 


l68  THE    PACIFIC    FUR    COMPANY. 

market.  In  conjunction  with  this  trade  Mr.  Astor  would 
also  prosecute  the  coast  trade  from  his  vessels,  and  would 
endeavor  to  secure  the  privilege  of  supplying  the  Russian 
establishments  farther  north.  He  saw  how  great  would  be 
his  advantage,  once  thoroughly  established  on  the  coast, 
over  his  competitors,  the  Northwest  Company,  should  they 
extend  their  trade  in  that  direction.  Their  line  of  supply 
overland  across  the  continent  from  Montreal  would  be  much 
longer  than  that  which  he  might  establish  from  St.  Louis 
with  a  single  river  leading  more  than  half  the  way.  The 
Northwesters  could  not  compete  with  him  in  the  ocean  busi- 
ness, for  the  British  East  India  Company  monopolized  that 
trade.  Everything  indicated  that  the  plan  was  feasible  and 
it  may  be  said,  after  a  lapse  of  ninety  years,  that  nothing  has 
come  to  light  to  show  that  it  was  not  so. 

Having  fixed  upon  his  general  plan,  Mr.  Astor  proceeded 
to  organize  his  company  and  fit  out  his  expeditions.  As  a 
name  to  cover  this  particular  enterprise  he  chose  "Pacific 
yur  Company,"  but  it  was  in  reality  only  the  American  Fur 
Company  with  a  special  name  applied  to  a  special  locality. 
His  long  acquaintance  and  familiarity  with  the  Canadian 
trade  turned  his  mind  in  that  direction  as  the  best  field 
for  recruits  trained  in  the  business.  He  even  hoped  to  sig- 
nalize the  commencement  of  his  undertaking  by  a  master- 
stroke which  should  forestall  competition  in  the  future.  He 
proposed  to  the  Northwest  Company  to  join  him.  His  of- 
fers were  alluring,  but  the  managers  of  that  concern  did  not 
look  with  favor  upon  the  alliance,  and  moreover  resolved 
to  anticipate  him  in  his  own  plans.  They  declined  his  ofifer, 
but  forthwith  commenced  preparations  for  a  descent  upon 
the  Columbia. 

A  union  with  the  Northwest  Company  being  impossible, 
Mr.  Astor  nevertheless  organized  his  company  largely  from 
Northwest  men.  This  matter  will  be  referred  to  later  on,  in 
order  to  trace  its  influence  upon  the  outcome  of  the  enter- 
prise, but  for  the  present  it  need  only  be  stated  that  a  large 
part  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  company  were  subjects  of 


ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    COMPANY.  1 69 

Great  Britain,  with  which  nation  the  United  States  was  then 
on  the  verge  of  war. 
-<?**^  The  articles  of  agreement  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company 
were  signed  on  the  23d  of  June,  1810.  Mr.  Astor  was 
to  be  the  head  of  the  company,  to  furnish  the  means,  not 
to  exceed,  however,  an  advance  of  four  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  and  to  bear  all  losses  for  the  period  of  five  years. 
Of  the  hundred  shares  into  which  the  stock  was  to  be  divid- 
ed, Mr.  Astor  was  to  hold  fifty  and  the  associates  fifty. 
The  company  was  to  hold  its  annual  general  meeting  at  the 
central  establishment  on  the  Columbia,  at  which  absent 
members  were  to  be  represented  by  proxy.  The  term  of  the 
association  was  fixed  at  twenty  years,  with  the  privilege  of 
dissolving  it  within  the  first  five  years  if  found  unprofitable. 
An  agent  of  the  company  was  to  reside  at  the  principal  es- 
tablishment on  the  Columbia  for  a  period  of  five  years. 

The  company  in  the  course  of  its  career  included  the  fol- 
lowing persons :  Mr.  Astor,  president  and  principal  stock- 
holder; Wilson  Price  Hunt,  of  New  Jersey,  partner  and 
first  resident  agent;  Alexander  McKay,  Duncan  McDou- 
gal,  Donald  McKenzie,  Ramsay  Crooks,  Robert  McLellan, 
Joseph  Miller,  David  Stuart,  Robert  Stuart,  John  Clarke, 
partners.  There  were  in  addition  some  eighteen  clerks,  and 
the  necessary  complement  of  voyageurs,  hunters,  and  en- 
gages, comprising  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  forty  men. 

In  commencing  to  carry  out  his  scheme,  Mr.  Astor  or- 
ganized two  expeditions,  one  to  go  by  sea  and  the  other  by 
land  along  the  route  of  Lewis  and  Clark.  The  first  vessel 
was  to  stop  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  and  leave  there 
such  material  and  passengers  as  were  designed  for  the  estab- 
lishment at  that  point,  and  then  she  was  to  pursue  Mr.  As- 
tor's  further  business  along  the  coast,  returning  to  the  Co- 
lumbia for  such  furs  as  might  be  collected  there.  The  over- 
land expedition  would  at  the  same  time  proceed  across  the 
continent  and,  if  things  went  well,  reach  the  Columbia  not 
much  later  than  the  ship. 

Mr.  Astor's  comprehensive  mind  had  arranged  a  multi- 


■^ 


170  CONSENT    OF    RUSSIAN    GOVERNMENT. 

tude  of  details,  and  among  them  one  which  shows  the  high 
authority  of  his  name  at  this  time  throughout  the  world. 
He  made  application  to  the  Russian  government  for  permis- 
sion to  prosecute  his  purpose  of  trade  with  the  Russian  posts 
on  the  northwest  coast.  His  request  was  granted  and  he 
thus  entered  upon  his  undertaking  with  the  expressed  sanc- 
tion of  two  interested  governments. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ASTORIA. 
THE   EXPEDITION    BY   SEA. 

The  Tonquin  —  Voyage  of  the  Tonquin  —  Misunderstandings  with 
Captain  Thorn  —  Crossing  the  Columbia  Bar  —  Selection  of  site  for 
fort  —  Tonquin  leaves  Astoria  —  The  loss  of  the  Tonquin  —  Criticism 
of  Captain  Thorn. 

"^^  HE  ship  selected  by  Mr.  Astor  to  convey  the  sea  expedi- 
^^  tion  to  its  destination  was  called  the  Tonquin — a  ves- 
sel of  290  tons  burden  and  a  good  staunch  ship.  Her  com- 
mander was  Jonathan  Thorn,  a  United  States  Naval  officer 
on  leave,  probably  for  this  purpose  through  the  courtesy  of 
the  government.  He  bore  an  excellent  reputation  as  an  offi- 
cer, was  honest  and  single-minded  in  his  loyalty  to  his 
employer,  but  imfortunately  could  not  distinguish  between 
the  rigid  requirements  of  military  discipline  and  the  more 
pliant  authority  which  should  be  exercised  toward  those  re- 
lated to  him  only  by  the  common  bond  of  commercial  adven- 
ture. The  crew  of  the  vessel  numbered  twenty-one  and  the 
passengers  thirty-three.  The  vessel  was  well  laden  with 
merchandise  suited  to  the  trade,  and  carried  in  addition  a 
full  equipment  for  hunting  and  trapping  parties,  materials 
and  tools  for  the  construction  of  a  small  schooner  on  the 
Columbia,^  and  for  the  erection  of  a  trading  post,  and  seeds 
for  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  around  the  new  establishment. 
The  Tonquin  weighed  anchor  September  6th,  1810,  and 
cleared  the  bar  at  Sandy  Hook  September  8th.  For  a  dis- 
tance she  was  accompanied  by  an  American  naval  vessel  to 
protect  her  against  search  by  British  cruisers,  an  event  which 

*For  a  description  of  the  Columbia  river  and  a  consideration  of 
the  origin  of  the  name  "  Oregon,"  see  Part  V.,  Chapter  IV. 


172  CHOLERIC    CAPTAIN    THORN, 

there  was  much  reason  to  fear  might  transpire.  The  voy- 
age passed  off  without  serious  mishap.  The  Falkland  Is- 
lands were  sighted  December  3d,  the  Pacific  ocean  was 
entered  December  24th,  and  the  Hawaiian  Islands  ^  were 
reached  February  i  ith,  1811.  On  the  28th  of  February  the 
Tonquin  left  the  Islands,  having  taken  twenty-four  natives 
on  board,  and  on  March  22d,  sighted  land  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia. 

The  principal  feature  of  the  voyage  was  the  irrepressible 
feeling  of  hostility  that  prevailed  between  the  Captain  and 
most  of  the  passengers.  More  incompatible  natures  it  would 
have  been  difficult  to  bring  together.  The  Captain,  as  a 
naval  officer,  had  been  educated  in  the  iron  discipline  of  a 
man-of-war  and  his  temperament  emphasized  its  defects 
and  severities.  His  relentless  rigor  could  not  countenance 
any  laxity,  either  in  business  matters  or  in  the  relations  of 
officers  to  those  below  them.  The  Canadians  were  bred  to 
a  different  sort  of  life.  They  were  freer  with  each  other, 
cared  little  for  the  punctilio  of  rank  or  the  requirements  of 
discipline  so  long  as  the  main  purpose  of  their  enterprise 
was  prospering.  Those  who  were  partners  in  the  associa- 
tion felt  that  they  were  sailing  in  their  own  vessel,  and  they 
naturally  considered  themselves  entitled  to  privileges  which 
might  not  be  accorded  to  the  common  passenger.  Captain 
Thorn  was  disposed  to  give  them  no  higher  consideration 
than  the  ordinary  crew,  and  he  at  once  commenced  apply- 
ing to  them  the  petty  regulations  of  the  ship,  such  as  the 
putting  out  of  lights  at  a  certain  hour,  and  the  like.  As  the 
partners  stood  out  stoutly  for  their  rights  in  these  matters, 
bad  blood  was  engendered,  and  the  Captain  more  than  once 
threatened  to  put  them  in  irons. 

Captain  Thorn,  moreover,  had  conceived  a  very  poor  opin- 
ion of  these  associates  of  Mr.  Astor.     He  knew  that  they 

*  It  was  in  these  early  days  that  were  laid  the  foundations  of  that  com- 
mercial intercourse  which  nearly  ninety  years  later  was  to  make  the 
Hawaiian   Islands  a  part  of  the  American   Republic. 


AN    UNFORTUNATE    COMBINATION.  I73 

themselves  had  furnished  no  money,  that  they  had  no  prop- 
erty at  stake,  and  he  could  not  see  them  touch  a  bale  of 
goods  or  suggest  a  measure  pertaining  to  the  enterprise, 
without  feeling  that  they  were  trifling  with  his  employer's 
interests.  He  forgot  also  that  most  of  them  had  not  been 
to  sea  before  and  that  everything  was  new  and  strange. 
Had  he  not  done  so  he  might  have  experienced  less  contempt 
for  their  desire  to  land  here  and  there,  and  for  their  pro- 
clivity for  taking  notes  upon  the  voyage. 

This  bitter  feeling  led  to  some  perilous  situations.  At 
the  Falkland  Islands  the  Captain  became  enraged  because 
some  of  the  party  who  had  gone  on  shore  did  not  return 
as  he  had  directed.  He  weighed  anchor,  and  declared  in  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Astor  that  he  would  certainly  have  left  them 
had  not  the  wind  changed  so  as  to  prevent  his  sailing.  The 
passengers  say  that  his  change  of  mind  was  prompted  by  the 
bold  action  of  young  Robert  Stuart,  who  threatened  to  shoot 
him  if  he  did  not  instantly  turn  about  and  wait  for  the 
party.  At  the  Sandwich  Islands  the  same  imperious  temper 
caused  him  to  abandon  Edward  Aymes,  a  sailor,  after  most 
unmercifully  beating  him  for  not  returning,  on  one  occa- 
sion, promptly  to  the  ship. 

He  was  himself  doubtless  conscious  of  his  failing  in  this 
regard  and  felt  that  he  was  incurring  a  great  deal  of  ill  will 
on  the  part  of  his  fellow  passengers.  He  even  at  one  time 
imagined  that  they  were  plotting  a  mutiny,  but  of  this  there 
is  not  the  slightest  evidence. 

It  was  in  every  way  an  unfortunate  combination.  One 
can  readily  understand  how,  from  his  point  of  view,  the  in- 
flexible Captain  was  sorely  disturbed  by  everything  that  did 
not  partake  of  the  clockwork  regularity  and  unbending 
methods  of  his  own  manner  of  life.  In  this  he  was  an 
extreme  example  of  a  fault  by  no  means  unfamiliar  to 
officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy  at  all  times.  He  had  not  the 
happy  faculty  of  adapting  himself  to  circumstances,  and  he 
could  not  conceive  of  such  a  thing  as  a  business-like  pro- 
ceeding in  which  stern  and  rigid  discipline  were  not  con- 


174  CROSSING    THE    COLUMBIA    BAR. 

stantly  in  evidence.  It  is  a  strong  point  in  his  favor  that  his 
crew  were  generally  loyal,  and  even  those  who  heartily  dis- 
liked him  were  compelled  to  applaud  the  constant  care  which 
he  took  of  the  order  and  cleanliness  of  the  ship  and  the 
health  of  his  passengers  and  crew.  With  all  his  failings  he 
kept  constantly  in  view  his  employer's  interests,  and  while 
a  man  with  more  tact  and  knowledge  of  human  nature 
might  have  maintained  equally  good  discipline  and  at  the 
same  time  a  friendly  relation  with  his  passengers,  none 
could  have  shown  greater  singleness  of  purpose  in  carrying 
out  what  he  understood  to  be  his  duty. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  the  Captain  exhibited 
what  must  be  pronounced  a  serious  error  of  judgment,  even 
in  his  own  profession,  in  his  attempts  to  get  over  the  bar. 
That  wild  and  tempestuous  entrance  to  the  great  "  River  of 
the  West "  was  well  known  for  its  dangers  to  navigation. 
At  the  time  of  the  Tonqidn's  arrival  it  was  in  one  of  its 
worst  moods,  when  it  was  almost  madness  to  undertake  to 
sound  its  channel.  Nothing  daunted,  the  Captain  at  once 
undertook  the  task  and  sent  off  a  boat  under  charge  of  the 
first  mate  Fox,  with  a  crew  of  four  men.  The  boat  was 
itself  a  worthless  one,  and  Fox  seems  to  have  felt  that  he 
was  embarking  upon  an  enterprise  from  which  he  should  not 
return.  So  it  proved,  for  not  a  word  was  ever  afterward 
heard  from  these  five  men. 

On  the  23d  of  March,  the  Captain  continued  his  efforts, 
sending  out  one  or  two  boats  which  returned  without  suc- 
cess, but  with  narrow  escapes  from  disaster.  In  the  after- 
noon of  the  next  day  another  crew  was  sent  out,  and  was 
soon  followed  by  the  Tonquin  herself.  When  at  the  most 
difiicult  point  of  the  passage,  the  strong  outward  swell  (for 
the  Captain  had  unfortunately  selected  the  period  of  ebb- 
tide) swept  the  small  boat  out  to  sea  past  the  Tonquin, 
whose  crew  were  utterly  helpless  to  extend  them  any  assist- 
ance owing  to  the  critical  situation  of  the  ship.  The  boat 
was  soon  upset  and  three  of  the  crew  were  drowned,  includ- 
ing one  Sandwich  Islander.     Stephen  Weekes,  and  another 


ASTORIA    FOUNDED.  1/5 

islander,  succeeded,  by  dint  of  the  utmost  exertion,  in  mak- 
ing land,  where  they  were  found  next  day  by  the  main  party. 
Thus,  at  the  very  threshold  of  the  great  enterprise,  eight  men 
lost  their  lives. 

It  was  during  the  night  that  the  ship  finally  found  herself 
at  a  safe  anchorage  within  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.^ 
The  first  care  of  the  crew  and  passengers  of  the  Tonqiiin 
was  to  search  for  the  missing  boat  crews,  and  this  business 
occupied  most  of  the  25th  of  March.  They  found  only 
Weekes  and  one  Sandwich  Islander,  and,  although  some 
hope  of  discovering  the  rest  of  the  party  still  remained,  it 
was  now  generally  believed  that  all  were  lost. 

Several  days  were  spent  in  the  search  for  a  suitable  site 
whereon  to  erect  a  post.  None  being  found.  Captain  Thorn 
became  disgusted  and  proceeded  to  erect  a  shed  under  which 
to  store  the  material  and  merchandise  for  the  establishment. 
He  was  in  haste  to  get  out  of  the  bay  and  continue  the 
further  prosecution  of  the  voyage.  The  Captain's  arbitrary 
action  offended  McDougal,  the  principal  partner  in  the 
absence  of  Mr.  Hunt,  and  he,  with  David  Stuart,  set  out  on 
the  5th  of  April  to  explore  the  south  side  of  the  bay.  The 
result  of  his  search  was  the  selection  of  a  site,  which,  though 
not  entirely  satisfactory,  was  adopted  on  account  of  the 
eagerness  of  the  Captain  to  discharge  his  cargo.  On  the 
1 2th  of  April  sixteen  of  the  party,  with  the  necessary 
material  and  equipment,  commenced  clearing  the  ground. 
Soon  afterward  the  Tonquin  made  her  appearance  and  was 
duly  received  with  a  salute  of  musketry.  The  new  estab- 
lishment was  christened  Astoria. 

The  difficulties  between  Captain  Thorn  and  the  partners 
did  not  cease  with  the  selection  of  the  site  for  the  post.  The 
Captain  could  not  brook  what  he  considered  an  unnecessary 

'  I  have  assumed  March  2Sth  as  the  date  when  the  Tonquin  entered 
the  Cokimbia  for  it  is  clear  from  Irving's  detailed  description,  that 
the  vessel  was  forced  to  anchor  before  she  made  the  entrance,  which  she 
finally  effected  during  the  night  on  the  flood  tide.  This  must  have 
been  between  midnight  and  morning,  and  the  crew  were  not  certain 
that  they  were  safe  over  the  bar  until  daylight  of  the  25th. 


176  THE    TONQUIN    SAILS. 

delay  in  getting  the  new  buildings  ready  to  receive  the  ship's 
cargo.  As  soon  as  possible  McDougal  established  his 
quarters  on  shore,  so  as  to  be  freed  from  the  immediate  inter- 
ference of  the  Captain,  and  thereafter  their  rancorous  com- 
munications were  mostly  conducted  by  letter.  The  delay  in 
building  the  post  was  not  by  any  means  entirely  inexcusable. 
The  site  was  occupied  by  immense  trees,  and  the  men  were 
not  accustomed  to  the  work  of  clearing  ground  of  such 
obstructions.  Ross  gives  an  amusing  picture  of  the  awk- 
ward maneuvers  of  these  inexperienced  men  in  felling  the 
huge  trees,  and  his  account  makes  one  wonder,  not  that  the 
site  was  long  in  being  cleared,  but  that  it  was  ever  cleared 
at  all.  At  last  suitable  buildings  for  the  temporary  storage 
of  the  Tonqiiin's  cargo  were  completed.  The  ship  was 
unloaded,  and  on  the  ist  of  June  departed  from  Astoria 
with  Alexander  McKay,  partner,  on  board  as  supercargo, 
and  James  Lewis  as  clerk.  We  shall  follow  to  her  untimely 
end  the  good  ship  that  had  brought  the  Astorians  to  their 
destination,  and  shall  return  to  the  Columbia  at  a  later 
opportunity.^ 

The  To7iqttin  left  Astoria  on  the  ist  of  June,  181 1,  but 

*  Our  data  for  the  loss  of  the  Tonquin,  one  of  the  most  appalling 
marine  disasters  in  history,  are  derived  from  a  single  original  source. 
This  was  an  Indian  of  the  Chehalis  tribe,  by  the  name  of  Lamazee  (Irv- 
ing), Lamazu  (Ross)  or  Lamanse,  according  to  the  recent  finding  of 
Mr.  Bancroft.  He  had  occasionally  been  employed  by  coasting  vessels 
as  an  interpreter  and  in  that  way  had  picked  up  enough  English  to 
make  himself  useful.  He  was  taken  along  on  the  present  occasion  and 
was  the  sole  survivor  of  the  massacre.  Some  months  afterward  he  was 
brought  into  Astoria  and  there  related  the  circumstances  of  the  disaster. 
His  veracity  has  been  impugned  by  Ross,  with  what  reason  I  do  not 
know,  but  in  any  case  necessity  compels  us  to  accept  his  narrative  for 
there  is  no  other.  We  have  five  records  of  what  he  said  derived  di- 
rectly from  those  who  heard  him.  The  first  is  by  Crooks  and  Stuart, 
published  in  the  Missouri  Gazette  of  St.  Louis,  May  15,  1813.  The 
second  is  contained  in  Franchere's  Narrative.  The  third  is  by  Ross 
Cox.  The  fourth  is  by  Irving.  The  fifth  is  by  Alexander  Ross.  Irv- 
ing's  is  the  most  minute  and  elaborate  of  all.  and  embodies  the  most 
reasonable  probabilities  from  the  conflicting  reports  of  those  who  heard 
the  story. 


DANGER    FROM    COAST    INDIANS.  I'JJ 

did  not  succeed  in  passing  the  bar  until  the  5th.  She  turned 
north,  and  at  Gray's  Harbor  picked  up  an  Indian,  who  had 
some  skill  as  an  interpreter,  to  assist  in  the  traffic  with  the 
natives.  In  about  a  week  she  arrived  at  Nootka  Sound  in 
Vancouver  Island,  and  anchored  opposite  a  large  Indian 
village  located  on  its  shores.^  The  interpreter  cautioned 
Captain  Thorn  against  this  tribe,  as  one  noted  for  treachery 
toward  the  whites,  but  his  warnings  were  unavailing. 

The  danger  to  trading  vessels  from  the  coast  Indians  was 
already  well  known.  Many  lives  had  been  lost  at  their 
hands.  Repeated  attempts  had  been  made  to  capture  ves- 
sels, and  in  the  case  of  the  ship  Boston,  eight  years  before, 
the  Indians  had  succeeded  in  destroying  all  but  two  of  the 
crew.  Mr.  Astor  was  thoroughly  alive  to  this  peril,  and 
his  parting  counsel  to  Captain  Thorn  was  to  beware  of  the 
Indians,  and  not  to  permit  many  on  board  at  a  time,  for 
nearly  all  disasters  on  the  coast  had  arisen  from  this  cause. 

Captain  Thorn  had  evidently  too  great  a  contempt  for 
the  population  that  he  found  at  Nootka  to  cause  him  to  pay 
any  respect  to  his  interpreter's  advice  or  even  to  that  of  his 
employer.  McKay  and  the  interpreter  went  on  shore  the 
day  after  the  arrival.  They  were  well  received  and  remained 
one  or  two  nights.  In  the  meanwhile  Clerk  Lewis  and  the 
Captain  opened  up  a  considerable  traffic  on  board.  The 
Captain  was  not  a  very  politic  trader,  and  soon  got  into  a 
wrangle  with  the  Indians,  which  terminated  in  his  striking 
the  principal  chief  in  the  face  with  a  bale  of  furs,  and  expell- 
ing him  from  the  ship.  To  the  chief  it  was  a  mortal  insult,, 
and  he  secretly  vowed  revenge. 

As  soon  as  McKay  and  the  interpreter  discovered  what 
had  happened  they  hastened  back  to  the  ship  and  remon- 
strated with  the  Captain  for  his  rash  conduct.  The  latter 
treated  their  fears  with  contempt,  and,  as  if  confirming  his 
views,  the  Indians,  on  their  next  visit,  did  appear  very 
friendly  and  pretended  to  have  overlooked  the  insult  to  their 

"It  is  probable  that  the  date  of  arrival  was  not  later  than  June  12, 
although  the  estimate  of  time  is  based  upon  confessedly  meagre  data. 


178  PLOT    OF    THE    INDIANS. 

chief.  Thorn,  in  return,  being  doubtless  somewhat  repent- 
ant of  his  act,  treated  them  civilly  and  welcomed  them 
aboard.  Thus  matters  went  on,  for  how  many  days  we  do 
not  know,  but  until  the  Indians  felt  that  all  apprehension  on 
the  part  of  the  whites  was  allayed.  They  then  fixed  upon 
a  day  for  the  execution  of  their  purpose,  and  early  in  the 
morning  commenced  carrying  it  into  effect. 

While  yet  Captain  Thorn  and  Mr.  McKay  were  asleep, 
a  pirogue  with  some  twenty  Indians  aboard,  carrying  furs 
indicative  of  a  purpose  to  trade,  arrived  alongside  the  ship. 
They  were  admitted  on  board  without  hesitation.  Soon 
after,  another  boat  load  arrived,  and  were  likewise  admitted, 
and  others  were  seen  approaching  from  shore.  The  num- 
bers increasing  so  rapidly,  and  the  empty  canoes  being  left 
in  charge  of  the  women,  together  with  other  suspicious  cir- 
cumstances, alarmed  the  watch.  He  sent  for  the  Captain 
and  Mr.  McKay,  who  had  not  yet  come  on  deck.  The 
interpreter  cautioned  McKay  that  there  was  trouble  on  foot, 
and  McKay  communicated  his  fears  to  the  Captain.  But 
the  latter  was  still  unconvinced  and  affected  to  believe  any 
serious  danger  out  of  the  question.  The  trading  opened  up 
briskly,  and  the  Indians  showed  none  of  their  usual  bicker- 
ing about  prices.  As  far  as  possible  and  not  excite 
suspicion,  they  demanded  knives  in  exchange.  These  they 
concealed  about  their  persons,  while  the  merchandise  they 
threw  into  the  canoes  in  charge  of  the  women.  As  they 
became  more  completely  armed  they  spread  themselves  about 
the  deck  until  there  were  two  or  three  Indians  close  by 
every  white  man. 

Thorn  at  last  began  to  fear  that  something  was  wrong, 
and  ordered  preparations  for  sailing,  A  part  of  the  crew 
commenced  taking  up  the  anchor,  and  seven  men  ascended 
the  rigging  to  unfurl  the  sails.  When  the  preparations 
were  nearly  complete  the  Captain  told  the  Indians  that  he 
was  about  to  depart,  and  that  they  would  have  to  leave  the 
ship.  Instantly,  by  a  preconcerted  signal,  they  uttered  a 
terrific  yell  and  commenced  the  attack.     Clerk  Lewis  was 


THE    TONQUIN    MASSACRE.  1 79 

the  first  man  struck,  and  fell  mortally  wounded.  McKay 
was  the  first  one  killed.  He  was  felled  by  a  war  club,  flung 
into  the  sea  and  there  killed  by  the  women  in  the  canoes. 
Cox  says  that  he  was  held  for  a  time  in  the  canoes  as  a 
prisoner  before  he  was  finally  slain.  Captain  Thorn  made 
a  most  heroic  defense  against  overwhelming  odds,  having 
no  weapon  but  his  pocket  knife,  and  was  not  overpowered 
until  he  had  slain  several  of  his  assailants.  It  seems  that 
every  one  on  deck  was  soon  killed  except  Lewis,  who  had 
crawled  into  the  cabin. 

The  men  aloft,  when  they  realized  the  situation,  under- 
took to  descend  and  reach  the  cabin.  Two  were  killed  in 
the  attempt,  and  Stephen  Weekes,  who  had  so  miraculously 
escaped  drowning  on  the  Columbia  bar,  was  mortally 
wounded.  He  and  four  uninjured  men  made  their  way  to 
the  cabin,  where,  under  cover  and  in  possession  of  fire  arms, 
they  soon  cleared  the  ship.  The  interpreter,  during  the 
progress  of  the  fight,  had  leaped  overboard  and  had  taken 
refuge  in  the  canoes  where  he  was  concealed  by  the  women. 

The  Indians  did  not  return  to  the  boat  that  day,  and  at 
night  the  survivors  of  the  crew  debated  what  course  they 
should  pursue.  To  try  to  take  the  ship  away  alone  was  too 
hazardous,  as  she  would  almost  certainly  be  driven  ashore 
where  she  would  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  natives.  It  was 
thought  best  to  abandon  her  in  one  of  the  ship's  boats.  The 
wounded  man,  however,  declined  to  go,  urging  that  he  was 
injured  beyond  recovery,  must  soon  perish  any  way,  and 
was  determined  to  sacrifice  his  life  in  wreaking  vengeance 
upon  the  Indians.  Who  this  brave  man  was  is  not  known. 
It  must,  however,  have  been  James  Lewis  or  Stephen 
Weekes.  The  narratives  of  Crooks  and  Franchere  indi- 
cate that  it  was  Weekes,  while  Irving  was  led  to  believe  that 
it  was  Lewis,  on  account  of  some  expressions  which  the 
latter  had  let  fall  during  the  voyage. 

Whoever  it  was,  he  found  a  ready  instrument  for  his  pur- 
poses. In  the  magazine  there  were  upwards  of  four  and 
a  half  tons  of  powder,  enough  to  blow  the  ship  to  pieces. 


l8o  A    DOUBLE    REVENGE. 

He  resolved  to  end  his  own  misery  by  slaying  as  many  as 
possible  of  the  tribe  that  had  caused  it.  On  the  morning 
following  the  massacre  the  Indians  cautiously  approached 
the  ship.  A  man  appeared  on  deck  and  welcomed  them  on 
board,  but  immediately  withdrew  below.  The  interpreter, 
who  was  with  the  Indians,  thought  that  it  was  Mr.  Lewis. 
The  Indians  soon  climbed  on  board,  and  meeting  no  resist- 
ance, began  to  scatter  about  the  vessel,  no  doubt  in  high 
spirits  at  the  rich  prospect  of  plunder  before  them.  Little 
did  they  know  of  the  act  of  stern  determination  which  was 
then  being  performed  by  the  intrepid  individual  who  had 
invited  them  aboard.  He  was  already  at  the  great  maga- 
zine prepared  to  sacrifice  his  life  in  revenge  upon  his  savage 
foes.  He  ignited  the  powder,  and  instantly  the  vessel  was 
blown  to  pieces,  its  wreckage  being  thrown  far  and  wide 
with  the  mutilated  bodies  of  the  Indians  aboard  of  and 
around  her.  If  the  massacre  had  been  successful  the 
revenge  was  doubly  so,  and  for  every  one  of  the  ship's  people 
who  had  perished,  four  or  more  of  the  Indians  were 
destroyed.  The  interpreter  himself  was  on  board,  but  was 
thrown  into  the  sea  unharmed  and  escaped. 

The  four  men  in  the  ship's  boat  were  now  struggling  with 
a  contrary  wind  at  the  mouth  of  the  bay.  They  were 
finally  compelled  to  make  for  the  shore,  and  having  found 
a  sheltered  nook,  concealed  themselves  until  they  could 
make  their  escape.  It  appears  that  in  some  way  the  Indians 
suspected  the  escape  of  some  of  the  crew,  doubtless  because 
they  had  found  on  board  next  morning  but  one  of  the  men 
who  had  driven  them  from  the  ship  the  day  before.  Know- 
ing that  they  could  not  survive  the  sea  in  its  condition  that 
day  in  an  open  boat,  they  rightly  concluded  that  they  must 
be  along  the  shore  somewhere  within  the  mouth  of  the  bay. 
A  search  was  commenced  and  resulted  in  the  capture  of  the 
four  men,  who  were  brought  to  the  village  and  there  put  to 
death  by  torture.  Before  this  took  place  the  interpreter 
obtained  from  them  a  relation  of  the  events  which  had 
transpired  after  the  massacre. 


RESPONSIBILITY    OF    CAPTAIN    THORN.  l8l 

For  this  awful  disaster  Captain  Thorn  must  alone  be  hel 
responsible.  He  violated  the  instructions  of  Mr.  Astor  in 
admitting  the  Indians  on  board,  and  he  displayed  a  culpabl 
want  of  tact  in  dealing  with  them.  His  contemptuous 
treatment  of  the  warnings  of  Mr.  McKay  and  the  inter- 
preter was  inexcusable.  But  he  paid  for  his  errors  with  his 
life,  and  while  these  errors  must  be  charged  to  his  account, 
they  did  not  involve  a  suspicion  of  disloyalty  or  lack  of 
integrity.  Irving,  who  knew  him  in  childhood,  and  felt 
the  natural  indulgence  which  such  acquaintance  inspires, 
has  dealt  with  his  memory  with  a  degree  of  consideration 
which  does  it  the  most  ample  justice. 

With  singular  rapidity  and  accuracy  the  news  of  this 
great  catastrophe  spread  among  the  Indian  tribes,  and  the 
overland  Astorians  were  apprised  of  it  while  yet  far  from 
their  destination.  The  news  likewise  made  its  way  quickly 
to  New  York,  for  there  is  a  letter  by  Charles  Gratiot  dated 
St.  Louis,  May  31,  181 2,  stating  that  he  had  received  a  letter 
from  Astor  giving  information  of  the  loss  of  the  Tonquin. 
Astor  must  therefore  have  heard  of  his  loss  not  later  than 
the  winter  of  181 1-12. 

To  the  Astorians,  among  the  uncertainties  of  a  new  and 
trying  situation,  and  menaced  by  an  uprising  of  the  sur- 
rounding tribes,  the  loss  of  the  Tonquin  was  a  terrible 
calamity.  To  Mr.  Astor  it  was  an  evil  augury  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  enterprise  upon  which  he  had  built  such  far- 
reaching  hopes. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ASTORIA. 
THE  OVERLAND  EXPEDITION  WEST. 

Mr.  Hunt  at  Montreal  —  Arrives  in  St.  Louis  —  Winter  camp  at 
Nadowa  —  Hunt  spends  winter  in  St.  Louis — Trouble  with  Manuel 
Lisa  —  Hunt  leaves  St.  Louis  —  Entire  party  leaves  Nadowa  —  Lisa 
attempts  to  overtake  Hunt  —  Lisa  overtakes  Hunt  —  Quarrel  between 
Lisa  and  Hunt  —  Arrival  at  the  Aricara  villages  —  Hunt  decides  to 
abandon  river  —  Departure  from  Aricara  villages  —  Expedition  stops  at 
the  Cheyennes  —  Edward  Rose  —  Arrival  at  Green  river — Party  on 
Snake  river  in  Jackson  Hole  —  Arrival  at  Fort  Henry  —  Decision  to 
abandon  horses  and  take  to  canoes  —  Departure  from  Fort  Henry  — 
Disaster  at  Caldron  Linn  —  Departures  from  Caldron  Linn  —  Hunt 
and  Crooks  stopped  by  the  mountains  —  Hunt  leaves  Snake  river  for 
the  Columbia  —  Arrival  at  Astoria  —  McKenzie,  McLellan  and  Reed  — 
Experiences  of  Crooks  and  Day  —  The  route  of  the  Astorians. 

*[rN  June,  1810,  Mr.  W.  P.  Hunt,  one  of  the  partners  in  the 

"  newly-formed  Pacific  Fur  Company,  Avent  to  Montreal, 
where,  in  company  with  another  partner,  Donald  McKenzie, 
he  set  about  organizing  the  overland  party.  The  work  in 
Montreal  was  completed  without  serious  difficulty,  and  on 
the  5th  day  of  July,  Hunt  and  McKenzie  set  out  for 
Mackinaw,  where  it  was  proposed  to  take  additional 
recruits.  The  route  pursued  was  by  the  Ottawa  river,  and 
the  party  arrived  at  Mackinaw  on  the  22nd  of  July.  At 
this  point  Mr.  Ramsay  Crooks,  future  president  of  the 
American  Fur  Company,  was  received  into  the  concern. 
Mr.  Hunt  experienced  a  great  deal  of  opposition  at  Macki- 
naw in  securing  the  men  he  wanted,  but  by  dint  of  shrewd 
management  he  at  length  succeeded.  On  the  12th  of 
August  the  augmented  party  set  out  via  Lake  Michigan,  the 


ORGANIZING    THE    EXPEDITION.  183 

Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers  and  the  Mississippi  to  St.  Louis, 
where  they  arrived  on  the  3d  of  September. 

At  St.  Louis  Mr.  Hunt  received  another  partner,  Joseph 
Miller,  and  made  a  considerable  addition  to  the  party.  In 
order  to  avoid  the  expense  of  v^intering  in  St.  Louis,  he 
decided  to  select  a  place  well  up  the  Missouri  beyond  the 
frontier.  Accordingly  he  set  out  from  St.  Louis  on  the  21st 
of  October  and  stopped  November  i6th  a  little  above  the 
site  of  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  near  a  small  stream  called  the 
Nadowa.  He  stopped  none  too  soon,  for  the  river  closed 
with  ice  the  second  day  after  his  arrival. 

Three  days  after  Mr.  Hunt's  departure  from  St.  Louis, 
letters  arrived  for  him  from  Mr.  Astor,  addressed  in  the  care 
of  Mr.  Gratiot,  who  forwarded  them  by  the  first  oppor- 
tunity. These  letters,  it  seems,  contained  important  orders 
from  Mr.  Astor,  giving  to  Mr.  Hunt  the  chief  direction  of 
the  overland  expedition,  which  had  so  far  been  managed  by 
Hunt  and  McKenzie  on  equal  footing.  This  course  gave 
great  offense  to  McKenzie,  who  considered  it  a  violation  of 
his  arrangement  with  Mr.  Astor.  It  was  treasured  up  as  a 
wrong  not  to  be  overlooked,  and  had  a  decisive  influence  on 
his  conduct  during  the  trying  period  which  soon  arrived  on 
the  Columbia. 

At  Nadowa  Mr.  Hunt  was  joined  by  Robert  McLellan, 
a  partner  of  Crooks  in  his  recent  trading  expeditions  up  the 
Missouri  river.  He  was  given  a  partnership  in  the  enter- 
prise. John  Day,  an  experienced  hunter,  also  joined  the 
party  at  this  point.  In  order  to  attend  to  personal  affairs 
and  to  secure  more  hunters,  and  also  an  interpreter  for  pass- 
ing the  Sioux  Indians,  Mr.  Hunt  left  Nadowa  January  i, 
181 1,  and  arrived  at  St.  Louis  on  the  20th  of  that  month. 

In  his  negotiations  at  St.  Louis  during  the  winter.  Hunt 
was  opposed  by  the  Missouri  Fur  Company  and  by  Manuel 
Lisa^its  principal  agent.  There  seems  to  have  been  np 
adequate  reason  for  this  opposition  inasmuch  as  the  new 
expedition  was  not  to  operate  in  the  Missouri  Fur  Company 
territory,  but  there  may  have  been  a  feeling  that  it  was  a 


184  AFFAIR    OF    PIERRE   DORION. 

Step  on  the  part  of  Astor  to  gain  a  foothold  on  the  Missouri. 
Finally,  as  Mr.  Hunt  was  about  to  leave  St.  Louis,  this 
opposition  took  acute  form  in  the  case  of  Pierre  Dorion,  who 
figured  for  many  years  as  half-breed  interpreter  among  the 
Indian  tribes  of  the  Missouri.  Dorion  had  been  in  Lisa's 
service  only  the  year  before,  and  while  up  the  country  had 
contracted  a  debt  for  liquor  for  which  Lisa  had  charged  him 
at  the  rate  of  ten  dollars  a  quart.  This  extortionate  charge 
Dorion  refused  to  pay,  and  any  reference  to  it  by  Lisa 
aroused  his  passionate  indignation.  Lisa  tried  to  secure  his 
services  again  in  opposition  to  Hunt,  but  the  remembrance 
of  the  liquor  debt  defeated  his  purpose.  Dorion  took 
service  with  Hunt,  almost  upon  his  own  terms,  for  besides 
an  extravagant  salary  he  stipulated  that  his  wife  and  two 
children  should  accompany  him.  Lisa,  having  failed  to 
detain  Dorion,  resorted  to  severer  measures,  and  undertook 
to  have  him  arrested  for  debt.  In  this  he  was  defeated 
through  the  timely  offices  of  John  Bradbury,  the  English 
naturalist,  who,  with  Mr.  Nuttall,  also  an  Englishman,  were 
to  accompany  Mr.  Hunt  for  a  considerable  distance  up  the 
Missouri.  Hunt  with  his  party  of  recruits  left  St.  Louis 
March  12,  181 1.  Bradbury  and  Nuttall  remained  one  day 
longer  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  post,  intending  to  overhaul 
the  boat  at  St.  Charles.  Hearing  of  Lisa's  intentions' 
during  the  day,  they  set  out  at  2  A.  M.  on  the  13th,  and  met 
the  boat  the  next  morning  before  its  arrival  at  St.  Charles, 
where  Lisa  was  to  arrest  the  interpreter.  Dorion  at  once 
took  to  the  woods  and  rejoined  the  party  the  following 
day. 

Hunt  now  proceeded  with  ordinary  progress  up  the  river. 
On  the  17th  of  March  he-passed  the  hamlet  of  La  Charette, 
a  little  beyond  which,  on  the  following  day,  Bradbury  had  a 
long  visit  with  John  Colter.  On  the  8th  of  April  he  arrived 
at  Fort  Osage,  about  forty  miles  below  the  present  site  of 
Kansas  City.  Here  he  was  met  by  Crooks  and  a  few  men. 
The  united  party  proceeded  on  their  way  on  the  loth,  and 
arrived  at  the  Nadowa  wintering  ground  on  the  17th.     The 


KEELBOAT    RACE    ON    THE    MISSOURI.  1 85. 

winter  quarters  at  Nadowa  were  abandoned  April  21st,  and 
the  entire  party  commenced  its  long  journey  to  the  Pacific. 

In  the  meanwhile  Manuel  Lisa  had  set  out  from  St.  Louis 
for  the  upper  Missouri  to  learn  what  had  become  of  Andrew 
Henry,  and  also  to  bring  down  the  winter's  trade.  He  was 
fully  aware  of  the  dangers  to  be  encountered  in  passing  the 
Sioux  nations  on  the  Missouri,  and  was  very  desirous  of 
overtaking  Hunt  in  order  that  both  expeditions  might  pass 
this  perilous  section  together.  He  had  one  of  the  best  keel- 
boats  that  ever  ascended  the  Missouri,  and  had  manned  it 
with  twenty  picked  men.  Lisa  was  a  host  in  himself,  being 
a  man  of  intense  energy  and  never  afraid  to  take  hold  of  any 
part  of  the  work  with  his  men,  leading  them  in  their  songs, 
and  otherwise  stimulating  them  to  extraordinary  exertions. 
With  these  advantages  he  hoped  to  overtake  Hunt,  notwith- 
standing the  considerable  start  of  the  latter;  for  on  the 
2nd  of  April,  when  Lisa  left  St.  Charles,  Hunt  was  nine- 
teen days  and  about  two  hundred  and  forty  miles  ahead. 

This  remarkable  keelboat  race,  covering  a  period  of  just 
two  months  and  a  distance  of  about  eleven  hundred  miles,  is 
one  of  the  notable  events  in  early  Western  history.  For  the 
greater  part  of  the  trip  the  elements  were  strong  against 
Lisa.  He  encountered  almost  continuous  storms  and  wind, 
and  the  difficulties  of  the  trip  were  considerably  above  the 
average.  Owing  to  this  fact  he  did  not  quite  accomplish 
his  purpose  of  overtaking  Hunt  before  the  latter  reached  the 
Sioux  country. 

When  Hunt  arrived  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  present 
city  of  Omaha,  where  Crooks  and  McLellan  had  their 
principal  establishment.  Crooks  went  over  to  the  Platte 
river  to  close  up  his  business  with  the  Oto  Indians,  promis- 
ing to  rejoin  the  expedition  at  the  Omaha  villages.  He 
took  his  departure  May  2nd,  accompanied  by  Bradbury. 
As  Hunt  was  about  to  leave  the  wintering  ground  of 
Crooks  and  McLellan  he  lost  two  men,  Samuel  and  William 
Harrington,  by  desertion.  He  reached  the  Omaha  villages 
on  the  loth  of  May,  and  was  rejoined  there  by  Crooks  and 


1 86  hunt's  distrust  of  lisa. 

Bradbury  on  the  following  day.  Lisa  was  now  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  behind  Hunt. 

On  the  19th  of  May  Lisa  passed  the  Omaha  villages,  and 
now,  despairing  of  overtaking  Hunt  before  the  latter  should 
arrive  at  the  Sioux  country,  he  dispatched  a  message  over- 
land requesting  him  to  wait.  This  message  overtook  Hunt 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Niobrara  river.  Hunt  sent  back  an 
answer  that  he  would  wait,  but  immediately  set  out  with 
redoubled  exertions  to  get  away  from  Lisa.  This  uncon- 
scionable action  was  not  justified  even  by  the  exigencies  of 
fur  trade  competition.  It  was  caused  by  the  representations 
of  Crooks  and  McLellan,  who  believed,  rightly  or  wrongly, 
that  Lisa  had  been  the  cause  of  their  detention  by  the 
Indians  in  1809,  and  that  it  was  his  plan  in  this  instance  to 
get  ahead  of  Hunt  and  play  the  same  trick  on  him.  Admit' 
ting  that  Lisa  was  entirely  capable  of  such  a  proceeding,  the 
circumstances  surrounding  this  case  were  such  that  they 
must  have  shown  Mr.  Hunt,  had  he  stopped  to  reflect,  that 
it  could  not  have  been  the  present  motive.  Lisa  had  but  a 
small  force,  twenty  men,  wholly  insufficient  to  pass  the 
Sioux  country  with  safety;  he  knew  that  Hunt  was  not 
planning  to  enter  the  trade  of  the  Missouri,  but  was  going 
to  the  Columbia,  and  thus  there  was  an  absence  of  motive 
for  such  a  proceeding  as  Hunt  suspected.  The  subsequent 
course  of  events  showed  this  to  be  the  case,  and  it  is  only 
simple  justice  to  Lisa  to  exculpate  him  from  any  insincerity 
in  this  affair.  But  McLellan  was  so  imbued  with  the  idea 
that  Lisa  could  mean  nothing  but  treachery,  that  he  not  only 
threatened  to  shoot  him  as  soon  as  he  should  meet  him  in  the 
Indian  country,  but  prevailed  upon  Hunt  to  take  the  under- 
hand course  which  he  did.  In  this  way  the  chances  of  dis- 
aster to  both  parties  were  greatly  increased,  and  no  good  end 
was  served. 

On  May  22nd  Hunt  picked  up  Alexander  Carson  and  Ben 
Jones,  and  on  the  26th  John  Hoback,  Edward  Robinson, 
and  Jacob  Rezner,  all  of  whom  had  gone  up  the  river  with 
the  Missouri  Fur  Company.     The  latter  three  were  return- 


LISA    WINS    THE    RACE.  I87 

ing  from  Henry's  abandoned  post  on  the  north  fork  of 
Snake  river.  It  is  probable  that  these  five  men  belonged  to 
the  forty  "  Americans  and  expert  riflemen  "  who  escorted 
the  Mandan  chief  to  his  nation.  These  acquisitions  to 
Hunt's  force  were  partly  neutralized  by  the  desertion  of  two 
men  on  the  25th  of  May. 

Late  in  the  month  of  May  the  wind  and  weather  which 
had  hitherto  been  against  Lisa  turned  more  in  his  favor. 
When  he  reached  the  Niobrara  he  was  but  sixty  miles 
behind  Hunt.  Finding  that  Hunt  had  not  waited  for  him, 
and  feeling  the  imminent  peril  of  his  situation,  he  redoubled 
his  exertions,  frequently  sailing  nearly  all  night,  and  on  one 
occasion  making  seventy-five  miles  in  twenty-four  hours. 
Unextinguished  fires  at  Hunt's  old  camps  told  him  that  his 
efforts  were  counting,  and  that  he  could  not  be  far  behind. 

On  May  30th  Hunt  was  stopped  by  the  Indians,  but  by  a 
bold  and  fearless  display  of  force  he  prevented  any  hostile 
action.  Lisa  met  the  same  Indians  June  ist,  and  also  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  away  from  them  without  serious  trouble. 
On  the  I  St  of  June  Hunt  had  another  conference  with  the 
Indians  and  again  escaped  without  difficulty.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  2nd,  while  still  parleying  with  the  Indians,  Lisa's 
boat  hove  in  sight.  Hunt  went  on  for  about  five  miles  and 
then  waited  for  his  rival  to  come  up.  Lisa  had  won  the 
race,  although  not  so  soon  as  he  had  expected.  His  per- 
formance had  been  a  prodigious  one  when  the  difficulties  of 
keelboat  navigation  on  the  Missouri  river  and  the  particu- 
larly unfavorable  weather  of  the  trip  are  taken  into  consid- 
eration. He  had  averaged  over  eighteen  miles  per  day  for 
sixty  days. 

The  united  parties  now  proceeded  at  a  leisurely  rate  and 
in  apparent  good  humor  until  the  5th.  The  weather  this 
day  being  such  that  the  boats  could  not  proceed,  the  parties 
remained  in  camp  a  short  distance  from  each  other.  Dur- 
ing the  day  Lisa  and  Dorion  got  into  a  quarrel  over  their  old 
difference,  and  Hunt  himself  soon  became  involved  on  Dor- 
ion's  side.     The  matter  was  rapidly  approaching  a  climax  in 


l88  HUNT    ABANDONS    THE    RIVER. 

the  form  of  a  duel  between  Hunt  and  Lisa,  when  it  was 
finally  settled  through  the  good  offices  of  Bradbury  and 
Brackenridge.  McLellan  was  present,  but  his  threat  to 
shoot  Lisa  did  not  materialize.  The  two  parties  arrived  at 
the  Aricara  villages  June  12,  181 1,  thus  terminating  the 
first  stage  of  the  overland  expedition. 

Hunt's  original  plan  had  been  to  ascend  the  Missouri  and 
Yellowstone  rivers.  But  the  information  derived  from  the 
recruits  whom  he  had  picked  up  below,  of  the  great  danger 
of  attempting  to  pass  the  country  of  the  Blackfeet,  decided 
him  to  leave  the  Missouri  at  the  Aricaras,  and  to  make  the 
rest  of  the  journey  to  the  Columbia  by  land.  It  was  there- 
fore necessary  to  secure  horses  enough  to  transport  his 
goods,  and  these  he  resolved  to  try  to  get  of  the  Aricaras. 
Accordingly  a  conference  was  held  with  these  Indians  imme- 
diately upon  the  arrival  of  the  party,  at  which  Lisa's 
extremely  pacific  and  generous  conduct  largely  allayed  the 
suspicions  of  the  other  party.  Negotiations  for  horses  were 
at  once  commenced  by  Hunt  and  continued  for  more  than  a 
month.  He  also  entered  into  an  arrangement  with  Lisa  by 
which  he  exchanged  boats  and  surplus  supplies  for  horses. 
To  secure  these  it  was  necessary  to  visit  Lisa's  post  among 
the  Mandans,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  farther  up.  Lisa, 
Brackenridge,  and  Nuttall  set  out  by  boat  June  19th,  and 
Crooks  and  Bradbury  by  land  the  same  day.  The  latter 
party  reached  the  fort  late  at  night  on  the  22nd,  and  the 
boat  party  arrived  on  the  26th.  Crooks  started  on  his 
return  with  the  horses  next  day  and  arrived  safely  at  Hunt's 
encampment.  Lisa  and  the  other  gentlemen  left  by  river  on 
the  6th  of  July  and  reached  the  Aricaras  on  the  next  day. 

On  the  17th  of  July  Brackenridge  and  Bradbury  left  for 
St.  Louis,  and  without  serious  incident  other  than  consider- 
able peril  from  a  storm  arrived  at  their  destination  on  the  ist 
of  August.  The  presence  of  these  two  gentlemen  on  the 
expeditions  of  Hunt  and  Lisa  was  a  most  fortunate  event, 
for  it  is  mainly  upon  their  published  journals  that  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  expeditions  rests. 


EDWARD    ROSE.  1 89 

The  next  day  after  the  departure  of  Brackenridge  and 
Bradbury,  Hunt  with  his  whole  party  took  up  their  long  and 
uncertain  journey  to  the  westward.  It  was  a  serious  mo- 
ment to  most  of  them,  for  no  one  knew  what  lay  ahead,  and 
they  found  but  little  consolation  in  the  doubtful  looks  of 
Lisa's  people  who  had  been  upon  the  upper  rivers.  But  the 
party  nevertheless  set  off,  sixty-four  in  number,  including 
Dorion's  squaw  and  two  children,  and  the  interpreter, 
Edward  Rose.  There  were  eighty-two  horses,  of  which 
each  of  the  partners  and  the  interpreter,  Dorion,  had  one. 
The  rest,  seventy-six  in  number,  were  laden  with  the  mer^c 
chandise  and  other  material  which  it  was  necessary  to  take 
along.  From  this  statement  some  idea  may  be  had  of  the 
considerable  amount  of  freight  which  the  expedition  under- 
took to  carry. 

On  the  23rd  of  July  Hunt  went  into  camp  on  the  banks 
of  what  was  then  called  Big  river,  near  a  camp  of  friendly 
Cheyennes.  Here  he  remained  until  the  6th  of  August,  lay- 
ing in  buffalo  meat  and  procuring  more  horses.^  An  acces- 
sion of  thirty-six  horses  enabled  him  to  allot  one  horse  to 
every  two  of  the  rest  of  the  party.  On  this  part  of  the 
journey  Mr.  Crooks  was  for  some  time  seriously  indisposed, 
and  had  to  be  carried  on  a  litter. 

At  about  this  time  Mr.  Hunt  became  thoroughly,  and  it 
would  seem  unnecessarily,  alarmed  on  account  of  his  new 
interpreter,  Edward  Rose,  whom  he  had  hired  to  help  him 
while  in  the  country  of  the  Crows.  Rose  had  been  among 
these  Indians  for  two  or  three  years,  having  probably  gone 
up  the  river  with  the  Missouri  Fur  Company  in  1809, 
though  possibly  with  Lisa  in  1807.  Certain  suspicious  ac- 
tions of  Rose  had  induced  the  belief  that  he  was  plotting 
to  betray  the  party  to  the  Crows.  How  far  these  suspi- 
cions were  well  founded  can  not  be  said,  but  the  probabilities 
are  all  against  them.  At  any  rate,  Hunt  was  badly  worked 
up  over  the  matter  and  resorted  to  precautions  which  seem 

^  The  Aricaras  and  Cheyennes  were  horse-dealing  tribes. — See  Part 
v.,  Chapter  IX. 


190  IN    GREEN    RIVER    VALLEY. 

almost  ridiculous,  considering  the  strength  of  his  party.^ 
Setting  out  anew  on  the  6th  of  August,  the  party  made 
their  way  through  the  maze  of  hills  and  streams  on  the 
northern  border  of  the  Black  Hills  and  across  the  desolate 
wastes  beyond.  On  the  17th  of  August  Hunt  first  saw, 
from  the  top  of  a  considerable  hill  near  the  route,  the  distant 
range  of  the  Bighorn  mountains.  On  the  30th  of  August 
the  party  arrived  at  the  foot  of  this  range  and  spent  two 
days  in  the  pleasant  valleys  of  the  foothills  in  company 
with  a  band  of  Crow  Indians  whom  they  met  there.  On 
the  2d  of  September  they  left  Rose  among  his  old  associates 
and  resumed  their  journey.  After  considerable  difficulty 
in  finding  a  pass,  during  which  they  were  obliged  to  accept 
the  guidance  of  the  Crows  for  a  distance,  they  made  their 
way  through  the  mountains  and  met  a  band  of  Shoshones 
on  the  western  slope.  On  the  9th  of  September  the  party 
reached  Wind  river  just  above  the  cafion  where  its  lower 
course  takes  the  name  of  Bighorn  river.  They  continued 
up  this  stream  for  eighty  miles  and  left  it  at  3  P.  M.  Septem- 
ber 1 5th,  to  cross  the  Wind  River  mountains  into  the  valley 
of  Green  river.  The  whole  of  the  next  day  was  spent  in 
making  the  passage,  which  seems  to  have  been  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Union  Pass,  and  it  was  not  until  the  evening 
of  the  1 6th  that  they  reached  Green  river  well  towards  its 
source.  While  on  the  summit  of  the  pass  they  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  Teton  mountains,  already  familiar  landmarks 
to  Hoback,  Robinson,  and  Rezner. 

The  party  continued  in  the  valley  of  Green  river  until 
the  24th  of  September  and  spent  the  time  hunting  buffalo, 
curing  meat  and  recuperating  their  horses.  They  resumed 
their  journey  on  the  above  date,  crossed  the  divide  between 
Green  and  Snake  rivers,  and  followed  down  Hoback  river 
to  its  junction  with  the  Snake  where  they  arrived  on  the 
26th  of  September.  Plere  there  was  a  clamor  among  the 
members  of  the  party  to  abandon  the  horses  and  take  to 
the  river.     But  information  derived  from  the  Indians,  and 

*For  a  sketch  of  this  interesting  character  see  Part  IV.,  Chapter  VI. 


AT    FORT    HENRY.  I9I 

from  a  reconnaissance  along  the  river,  showed  that  naviga- 
tion was  impracticable.  At  this  point  Hunt  detached  a 
trapping  party  of  four  men  to  remain  in  the  neighborhood 
during  the  winter.  They  were  Alexander  Carson,  Pierre 
Delauney,  Pierre  Detaye,  and  one  St.  Michael.  He  then 
proceeded  on  his  way  October  4th,  making  for  Henry's  fort 
upon  the  advice  of  Hoback,  Robinson,  and  Rezner,  and  af- 
ter crossing  Snake  river  and  Teton  pass  arrived  at  the 
abandoned  post  October  8,  181 1. 

At  Fort  Henry  Hunt  committed  the  great  mistake  of  the 
expedition.  He  yielded  to  the  desires  of  the  party,  aban- 
doned the  horses,  and  decided  to  trust  to  the  river  the  rest 
of  the  way.  He  at  once  set  about  manufacturing  canoes, 
and  this  work  was  completed  and  the  flotilla  loaded  within 
ten  days.  In  the  meanwhile,  October  loth,  a  second  party 
of  trappers  was  detached,  consisting  of  Joseph  Miller,  one  of 
the  partners,  John  Hoback,  Edward  Robinson,  Jacob  Rez- 
ner, and  a  man  named  Cass.  Miller  joined  the  party  be- 
cause, apparently,  he  was  disgusted  with  the  enterprise  and 
had  decided  to  throw  up  his  share.  The  other*  partners 
were  astonished  and  mortified  at  this  strange  resolution,  but 
could  not  prevail  upon  him  to  alter  it. 

On  the  19th  of  October  the  party  left  their  horses  in  the 
care  of  two  Snake  Indians  and  embarked  in  fifteen  canoes 
on  the  strong,  dark,  rapid  stream.  It  was  a  delightful 
change,  and  the  swift  progress  of  the  first  day  was  for  the 
time  being  a  complete  confirmation  of  the  wisdom  of  having 
adopted  it.  But  the  satisfaction  was  of  short  duration. 
The  river  soon  began  to  show  its  true  character  as  a  treach- 
erous and  torrential  mountain  stream,  and  gloomy  forebod- 
ings quickly  followed  hopeful  anticipations.  After  having 
passed  without  serious  loss  several  dangerous  places,  they  at 
length  came,  October  28th,  to  a  terrific  strait  where  one  of 
the  canoes,  containing  Mr.  Crooks,  was  wrecked  on  a  rock 
and  one  of  the  men,  Antoine  Clappine,  was  drowned.  The 
appearance  of  this  frightful  place  completely  dismayed  the 
party,  who  gave  it  the  expressive  names  of  '*  Caldron  Linn  " 
and  the  "  Devil's  Scuttle  Hole." 


192  AT    CALDRON    LINN. 

It  was  now  apparent  that  further  navigation  of  the  river 
was  not  to  be  thought  of  until  it  should  be  explored  and  its 
character  determined.  Parties  were  at  once  dispatched 
down  both  banks,  Mr.  Hunt  himself  going  down  the  right 
bank  some  forty  miles.  He  returned  with  ill  report,  but 
the  other  party  thought  that  boats  could  be  managed  after 
reaching  a  point  six  miles  below.  Four  of  the  canoes  were 
accordingly  sent  on  to  make  the  trial  and  at  the  same  time 
John  Reed,  the  clerk,  and  three  men  were  sent  for  a  more 
extended  exploration  of  the  river.  The  canoe  party  re- 
turned the  day  after  setting  out,  having  lost  their  canoes. 

The  situation  that  now  confronted  the  party  was  indeed 
a  grave  one,  and  they  fully  realized  the  folly  of  abandoning 
their  horses  and  trusting  to  an  unknown  stream  in  the  heart 
of  the  mountains.  The  various  wreckages  and  losses  had 
reduced  their  provisions  so  that  they  were  face  to  face  with 
starvation.  They  had  with  them  a  large  quantity  of 
goods,  and  were  absolutely  without  means  of  transporting 
them.  But  something  had  to  be  done  at  once.  "  After  a 
little  anxious  but  bewildered  counsel,"  as  Irving  well  puts 
it,  three  parties  set  out  in  addition  to  that  of  Mr.  Reed  which 
had  left  two  days  before.  McLellan,  with  three  men,  start- 
ed down  stream,  McKenzie  with  four  men  started  north  over 
the  desert,  and  Crooks  with  five  men  started  back  after  the 
horses  at  Fort  Henry,  Hunt  with  the  rest  of  the  party 
began  caching  their  goods  so  as  to  be  ready  for  instant  de- 
•^parture  should  necessity  demand.  Crooks  returned  after 
three  days,  having  given  up  the  idea  of  returning  to  Fort 
Henry.  Five  days  later  two  of  Reed's  men  returned  and 
pronounced  the  river  unnavigable.  It  was  then  definitely 
resolved  to  abandon  any  further  attempt  at  navigation  and 
to  proceed  on  foot.  Such  goods  as  were  not  absolutely  in- 
dispensable were  concealed  in  nine  caches,  and  the  party 
was  divided  into  two  detachments,  one  to  descend  each 
bank  of  the  river.  Mr.  Hunt,  with  twenty-two  persons, 
including  Dorion's  family,  took  the  right  bank,  and  Crooks 
with  eighteen  men  took  the  left.     The  divided  party  set 


SUFFERINGS    ON    SNAKE    RIVER.  I93 

out  from  Caldron  Linn  on  the  9th  of  November,  still  in 
the  mountains  with  winter  at  hand. 

Hunt's  party  made  their  way  with  much  suffering,  though 
with  occasional  relief  at  the  scattering  encampments  of  In- 
dians, to  the  neighborhood  where  the  great  river,  having 
taken  a  course  almost  due  north,  breaks  through  the  Blue 
mountain  range.  A  few  horses  had  been  secured  on  the 
way  which  relieved  the  men  to  some  extent  of  their  packs. 
Dorion's  family  in  particular  found  this  relief  a  most  grate- 
ful one.  On  the  6th  of  December  Hunt  was  brought  practi- 
cally to  a  standstill  by  the  mountainous  country  in  front  of 
him,  and  on  the  following  morning  was  hailed  from  the 
other  bank  by  Crooks'  party,  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  near- 
ly a  month.  Crooks  had  proceeded  more  rapidly  than  Hunt 
and  had  gone  three  days'  journey  farther  down  stream  until 
his  progress  had  been  barred  by  the  mountains.  The  condi- 
tion of  his  party  as  regards  provisions  was  even  more  des- 
perate than  that  of  Mr.  Hunt,  who  at  once  sent  across  the 
river  an  allowance  of  such  as  he  had. 

A  retrograde  march  was  now  resolved  upon  for  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  provisions  from  the  Indians  farther  up 
the  river.  Crooks,  who,  with  one  man,  had  come  across 
the  river,  was  taken  sick  and  was  unable  to  return  to  his 
party.  Hunt's  party  proceeded  up  stream,  but  Crooks, 
being  sick,  fell  somewhat  behind.  He  caught  up  on  the 
nth  of  December,  when,  at  his  urgent  request,  more  pro- 
visions were  sent  across  to  his  party  on  the  other  bank. 
On  one  of  the  return  trips,  Jean  Baptiste  Prevost,  having  be- 
come frantic  at  the  sight  of  some  meat,  forced  himself  into 
the  frail  craft,  upset  it  before  it  got  across,  and  was  drowned. 
At  this  place  John  Day  crossed  to  the  right  bank. 

Hunt  now  left  Day  and  Crooks  with  a  few  men  and 
hastened  on  to  the  stream,  Weiser  river,  which  he  had  passed 
on  the  26th  of  the  previous  month.  Among  the  Indians 
who  were  encamped  some  distance  up  this  stream  he  re- 
mained until  December  21st,  when,  having  procured  a  stock 
of  provisions  and  a  guide,  he  set  out  on  his  way  to  the  Co- 


194  HUNT    ARRIVES    AT    ASTORIA. 

lumbia.  Descending  the  Weiser  to  the  Snake  river  he 
crossed  his  party  with  great  difficulty.  He  left  behind  him 
Crooks,  Day,  and  four  Canadians  who  resolved  to  remain 
among  the  Snakes  rather  than  undertake  the  perils  of  a  win- 
ter journey  across  the  Blue  mountains. 

On  the  24th  of  December  Hunt  left  the  Snake  river  under 
the  guidance  of  the  Indian,  and  six  days  later,  December 
30th,  arrived  at  the  broad  mountain  valley  later  known  as 
the  Grande  Ronde.  The  only  incidents  of  importance  on 
this  six  days'  journey  were  that  two  of  the  men,  La  Bonte 
and  Carriere,  gave  out  and  had  to  be  put  on  horses,  and 
that  Dorion's  wife  gave  birth  to  a  child  on  the  morning  of 
the  30th. 

Having  celebrated  New  Year's  day,  181 2,  in  the  Grande 
Ronde  with  such  cheer  as  could  be  obtained  from  a  small 
band  of  Indians  found  there,  Hunt  and  his  party  set  out  to 
cross  the  Blue  mountains,  the  last  barrier  that  separated 
them  from  the  Columbia.  A  week  was  consumed  in  cross- 
ing the  range  during  which  time  Dorion's  new-born  child 
died  and  Carriere  was  lost,  never  to  be  heard  of  after.  On 
the  8th  of  January  Hunt  reached  the  Umatilla  river  in  a 
warm  and  pleasant  valley  and  found  there  some  prosperous 
and  well-provided  Indians  with  whom  he  rested  for  upwards 
of  two  weeks. 

On  the  20th  of  January  Hunt  resumed  his  journey  and 
moved  to  the  north  toward  the  Columbia  where  he  arrived 
on  the  following  day.  He  crossed  to  the  north  shore  and 
descended  the  right  bank  of  the  river  until  he  came  to  the 
"  Long  Narrows  "  (The  Dalles)  about  the  end  of  the  month. 
From  the  Indians  along  the  river,  as  well  as  from  those  on 
the  Umatilla,  Hunt  gathered  a  great  deal  of  information 
about  the  establishment  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  the 
arrival  of  McLellan,  McKenzie,  and  Reed,  and  the  loss  of 
the  Totiquin.  Finally,  having  passed  the  Cascades  of  the 
Columbia,  Hunt  embarked  in  canoes  on  the  5th  of  February 
and  arrived  with  his  party  at  Astoria,  February  15,  18 12. 

McKenzie,  McLellan,   and  Reed,  whom  we  saw  depart 


REJOICING    AT    ASTORIA.  I95 

from  the  Caldron  Linn,  luckily  united  their  parties  at  some 
distance  below  that  point,  near  the  base  of  the  mountains 
which  later  stopped  Hunt  and  Crooks.  They  were  twenty- 
one  days  getting  through  these  mountains,  when  they 
struck  the  Clearwater  river  and  thence  made  their  way  to 
the  Snake,  or  as  it  was  there  called,  the  Lewis  river.  Down 
this  stream  and  the  Columbia  they  made  their  way  with 
no  more  serious  accident  than  the  upsetting  of  McLellan's 
canoe,  January  i,  1812,  and  the  loss  of  his  rifle.  The  party 
reached  Astoria,  January  18,  1812,  nearly  a  month  in 
advance  of  Hunt. 

Great  was  the  rejoicing  at  Astoria  upon  the  arrival  of 
these  parties  with  so  few  losses ;  for  while  the  fate  of  Crooks 
and  his  men  was  still  doubtful,  there  were  only  threfe  men 
known  to  have  been  lost  in  the  almost  insuperable  difficul- 
ties in  which  the  expedition  had  become  involved.  Their 
safe  deliverance  was  a  cause  of  deep  gratitude,  and  a  day 
was  at  once  given  over  to  a  general  jubilee. 

Returning  now  to  look  after  Crooks  and  Day  we  find  that 
they  had  not  long  delayed  after  the  departure  of  Hunt  from 
the  banks  of  the  Snake  river.  Three  of  the  Canadians 
abandoned  them  in  February,  preferring  to  remain  with  the 
Indians  rather  than  continue  the  journey.  They  entirely 
lost  Hunt's  trail  on  his  arrival  at  the  Grande  Ronde  and 
remained  in  that  vicinity  during  the  rest  of  the  win- 
ter, subsisting  on  beaver  and  horses.  Late  in  March  they 
resumed  their  journey,  but  the  Canadian,  Dubreuil,  who 
had  come  with  them  thus  far,  gave  out,  and  was  left  behind 
with  a  band  of  Shoshone  Lidians.  Crooks  and  Day  now 
went  on  alone  and  near  the  middle  of  April  arrived  safelv  on 
the  banks  of  the  Columbia  at  about  the  same  point  where 
Hunt  had  crossed  it.  Here  they  found  a  hospitable  tribe 
of  Indians  who  helped  them  in  their  necessities.  They  soon 
started  down  the  river,  but  when  near  the  head  of  the  rapids 
they  were  attacked  by  the  native  banditti  who  infested  that 
region,  stripped  utterly  naked  and  robbed  of  everything 
they  had  with  them.     They  then  started  back  to  find  the 


196  BELATED    ARRIVALS. 

friendly  Indians  whom  they  had  lately  left.  On  the  ist  of 
May  they  were  picked  up  by  David  Stuart's  party  returning- 
from  Okanagan,  and  with  them  proceeded  to  Astoria,  which 
they  reached  on  the  nth  of  May,  1812. 

There  were  still  absent  the  four  men  who  had  been  left 
by  Crooks,  and  the  two  detached  trapping  parties  on  Snake 
river  —  in  all  thirteen  men.  Of  these,  seven  reached  Astoria 
nearly  a  year  later,  January  ij,  181^. 

Hunt  had  left  St.  Louis  March  12,  181 1,  and  arrived  at 
Astoria  February  15,  181 2,  a  period,  including  these  two 
dates,  of  three  hundred  and  forty  days.  His  own  estimate 
of  the  distance  was  thirty-five  hundred  miles.  The  most 
direct  railroad  route  at  the  present  time  makes  the  distance 
from  St.  Louis  to  Astoria  twenty-three  hundred  miles.  Of 
the  three  hundred  and  forty  days  consumed  at  least  one 
hundred  and  forty  were  spent  in  camp  at  various  points  or  in 
retrograde  marching  on  Snake  river. 

Below  will  be  given  as  close  a  description  of  the  route 
followed  after  leaving  the  Missouri  as  it  is  possible  to  pre- 
pare from  the  meagre  information  obtainable.  It  is  believed 
to  be  correct  within  a  small  error,  even  in  the  most  doubtful 
places,  while  for  the  greater  part  of  the  way  it  is  known  to 
a  certainty.  The  route  is  laid  down  on  the  accompanying 
map. 

The  Aricara  villages,  where  Hunt  organized  for  his  over- 
land journey,  were  eight  or  ten  miles  above  the  mouth  of 
Grand  river,  and  thirteen  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri.  From  this  point  the 
route  bore  first  to  the  northwest  a  short  distance,  then 
southwest  across  Grand  river  and  probably  one  or  more 
branches  of  the  Moreau.  Inclining  then  a  little  to  the 
north  nearer  to  the  valley  of  Grand  river  the  route  followed 
pretty  closely  the  divide  between  this  stream  and  the  Moreau 
or  possibly  went  back  to  the  south  fork  of  the  Grand.  It 
crossed  the  state  line  between  South  Dakota  and  Montana 
near  the  parallel  of  45  degrees  20  minutes,  and  soon  after 
struck  the  Little  Missouri.     It  kept  up  the  right  bank  of 


ROUTE    OF    TPIE    EXPEDITION.  197 

this  Stream  some  ten  miles  when  it  crossed  not  far  from  the 
modern  postoffice  of  Alzada,  and  bore  off  to  the  westward. 
Coming  into  a  difficult  country  it  bore  south  for  some  dis- 
tance passing  near  the  Missouri  Buttes  from  which  vicinity 
Hunt  and  McKenzie  had  their  first  glimpse  of  the  Bighorn 
mountains. 

From  this  point  the  route  followed  the  general  line  of 
the  divide  between  Powder  river  and  the  Belle  Fourche 
(North  Fork  of  Cheyenne)  inclining  toward  the  former 
stream,  which  it  reached  near  the  mouth  of  Pumpkin  creek, 
some  twenty  miles  northeast  of  Pumpkin  Buttes,  well- 
known  landmarks  of  later  years. 

Crossing  the  river  it  reached  the  base  of  the  mountains 
along  one  of  the  southernmost  branches  of  Crazy  Woman's 
Fork  of  Powder  river.  The  distance  traveled  so  far  is  given 
as  four  hundred  miles  by  Irving,  and  four  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  by  Crooks,  the  second  estimate  being  more  nearly  cor- 
rect. 

In  seeking  a  pass  across  the  mountains  during  the  next 
few  days  the  party  moved  southward  some  thirty  miles  and 
entered  the  range  along  one  of  the  branches  of  the  middle 
fork  of  Powder  river,  emerging  on  the  other  side  into  the 
valley  of  No-Wood  creek,  near  where  the  little  village  of 
Red  Bank  now  stands.  The  route  then  took  a  southwesterly 
course  across  a  divide  into  the  valley  of  Bad- Water  creek, 
which  it  followed  to  its  confluence  with  Wind  river.^ 

No  portion  of  the  above  route  east  of  the  Bighorn  chain 
is  now  followed  as  a  highway  of  travel,  and  its  exact  loca- 
tion is  a  matter  of  uncertainty;  but  the  route  given  is  be- 
lieved to  be  correct  within  an  error  of  five  miles  on  either 
side.  The  route  across  the  Bighorn  mountains  has  become 
a  regular  highway. 

The  course  of  the  party  after  reaching  Wind  river  was  up 

'The  portion  of  the  route  across  the  Bighorn  range  has  been  fol- 
lowed in  detail  by  Ex-Gov.  W.  A.  Richards,  of  Wyoming,  a  close  stu- 
•ient  of  the  history  of  his  state,  and  the  owner  of  a  ranch  in  that  locality. 
*  s-ta  indebted  to  him  for  valuable  suggestions  in  this  and  other  connec- 


198  CONTINUATION    OF    ROUTE. 

the  valley  of  that  stream,  sometimes  on  one  side  and  some- 
times on  the  other,  to  the  near  vicinity  of  where  the  modern 
road  turns  off  to  Union  Pass.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
party  followed  the  regular  Indian  trail  across  the  Wind  river 
range,  and  crossed  by  the  pass  to  which  Captain  Raynolds, 
forty-nine  years  later,  gave  the  name  "  Union." 

From  Union  Pass  the  route  lay  directly  across  the  head- 
waters of  Green  river ;  thence  up  one  of  the  small  unnamed 
tributaries  of  that  stream  and  over  a  divide  to  Hoback 
river  which  it  followed  to  Snake  river. 

Crossing  Snake  river  the  route  followed  the  regular  In- 
dian trail  across  Teton  pass  into  the  valley  of  Pierre's  Hole 
and  down  that  valley  to  Henry's  Fort  on  the  north  fork  of 
Snake  river. 

Of  that  portion  of  the  route  which  the  party  followed 
after  reaching  Wind  river  nearly  all  has  since  been  used  as 
a  public  highway.  The  distance  from  the  Aricara  villages 
to  Fort  Henry  was  estimated  by  Crooks  at  nine  hundred 
miles  and  may  be  considered  as  the  first  division  of  the 
overland  journey.  It  was  all  made  by  packtrain  and  on 
horseback,  in  an  entirely  successful  manner,  although  with 
what  now  seems  to  have  been  a  good  deal  of  unnecessary 
delay. 

The  second  division  of  the  journey  was  from  Fort  Henry 
to  Caldron  Linn  ^  where  the  shipwreck  took  place.  It 
was  made  by  water  all  the  way  and  its  location  is  therefore 
known  with  precision.  The  position  of  the  Caldron  Linn 
is  not  positively  known,  for  the  river  distances  given  by  the 
party  are  absurdly  exaggerated.  It  was  probably  half 
way  between  the  American  and  Shoshone  Falls.  Irving 
gives  the  distance  as  three  hundred  and  forty  miles  from 
Fort  Henry ;  Crooks  as  four  hundred  miles.  With  the  ut- 
most allowance  for  river  windings  it  could  not  have  been 
more  than  two  hundred  miles.     This  enormous  exaggeration 

*  This  name  was  probably  given  by  Crooks  or  McKenzie,  the  Scotch- 
men of  the  party,  for  Linn  is  from  a  Scotch  word  Lin  or  Lyn  and 
means  a  pool  of  water  in  a  perturbed  state,  as  at  the  foot  of  a  waterfall. 
The  caches  at  Caldron  Linn  were  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Snake  river. 


CONTINUATION    OF    ROUTE.  I99 

arose  from  an  over-estimate  of  the  velocity  of  flowing  water 
and  also  from  the  natural  tendency  among  travelers  to  over- 
estimate distances  when  the  difficulties  are  either  slight  or 
great. 

The  third  division  of  the  journey  was  made  on  foot  from 
Caldron  Linn  to  Astoria.  For  a  part  of  the  way  it  was 
made  in  five  parties,  of  which  three  were  small  detachments 
under  Reed,  McLellan,  and  McKenzie,  and  two  were  larger 
ones  under  Hunt  and  Crooks.  All  followed  the  general  di- 
rection of  Snake  river  but  the  route  of  Hunt,  who  had  the 
main  party,  will  alone  be  considered. 

Hunt's  route  lay  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Snake  to 
the  neighborhood  of  the  modern  Henry's  Ferry,  and  then 
left  the  river  in  a  direction  slightly  west  of  north  until  it 
reached  the  Boise  river  near  where  Boise  City  now  stands. 
The  route  then  lay  down  the  Boise  to  the  Snake  and  then 
down  the  right  bank  of  the  latter  stream,  to  about  opposite 
the  mouth  of  Powder  river,  Oregon,  a  tributary  of  the 
Snake.  Hunt  estimated  the  distance  from  Caldron  Linn  at 
four  hundred  and  seventy-two  miles. 

Hunt  now  went  back  as  far  as  Weiser  river  where  he 
obtained  some  supplies  and  horses  from  the  Indians.  He 
then  crossed  the  Snake  near  the  mouth  of  the  Weiser.  The 
route  from  here  on  was  practically  that  of  the  later  Oregon 
trail.  It  followed  the  regular  Indian  trail  through  the 
Grande  Ronde,  across  the  Blue  mountains  and  down  to  the 
valley  of  the  Umatilla.  Thence  it  descended  this  valley  for 
some  distance  and  then  crossed  over  to  the  Columbia  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Walla  Walla.  The  remainder  of  the  route 
was  along  the  Columbia  river. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ASTORIA, 

BEGINNINGS    ON    THE    COLUMBIA    AND    THE    OVERLAND 

EXPEDITION EAST. 

Prosperous  beginnings  —  Rumors  of  Northwest  Company  traders  — 
David  Thompson  arrives  at  Astoria  —  Defensive  measures  against  the 
Indians  —  The  Dolly  christened  —  Arrival  of  the  Overland  Astorians  — 
Departure  of  an  expedition  for  the  interior  —  Battle  at  the  Falls  of  the 
Columbia  —  Return  of  party  to  Astoria  —  Arrival  of  the  Beaver  —  War 
declared  by  United  States  against  Great  Britain  —  Second  expedition 
leaves  Astoria  for  the  interior  —  Visit  of  Reed  to  Caldron  Linn  —  Ad- 
ventures of  Astorian  hunters  —  Stuart  and  Crooks  start  for  St.  Louis  — 
They  meet  Miller,  Hoback,  Robinson,  and  Rezner  on  Snake  river  —  Ar- 
rival at  Caldron  Linn  —  On  Bear  river  —  Turning  north  to  find  Hunt's 
trail  —  Robbed  by  the  Crows  —  On  Hunt's  trail  — McLellan's  pilgrim- 
age—  Crooks'  illness  —  Arrival  in  Green  river  valley  —  Danger  of 
starvation  —  Arrival  in  the  Sweetwater  valley  —  The  "  Fiery  Nar- 
rows "  — Decide  to  go  into  winter  quarters  —  Abandonment  of  first 
winter  quarters  —  Second  winter  quarters  —  Party  abandon  quarters  in 
spring  —  Arrival  at  St.  Louis  —  The  route  of  Stuart  and  Crooks. 

'TT^HE  Tonquin  sailed  from  Astoria  on  the  ist  of  June, 
^^  i8i  I,  and  the  Httle  band  who  were  left  behind  to  found 
the  first  settlement  in  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  set  diligently 
about  their  task.  They  enjoyed  the  good  fortune  of  having 
commenced  their  work  in  the  spring  with  an  entire  summer 
in  which  to  prepare  for  their  first  winter.  Good  relations 
had  been  established  with  the  tribes,  and  fortune  smiled  upon 
the  infant  colony.  In  the  midst  of  their  activities  two  In- 
dians, who  turned  out  to  be  women  attired  as  men,  arrived 
at  the  post  June  15th  bringing  definite  news  of  a  trading 
establishment  on  Spokane  river,  a  branch  of  the  Columbia. 
A  similar  rumor  had  arrived  as  early  as  the  previous  April 


DAVID   THOMPSON    AT    ASTORIA.  20I 

to  the  effect  that  there  were  white  men  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Falls,  but  this  story  had  been  proven  untrue.  Now, 
however,  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  there  were  white 
men  higher  up,  nor  any  doubt  that  they  belonged  to  the 
Northwest  Company.  There  at  once  loomed  up  before  the 
eyes  of  the  Astorians  the  gloomy  forecast  of  the  inevitable 
competition  which  must  ensue  between  them  and  this  for- 
midable rival. 

The  strength  of  the  Astorians  at  this  time  precluded  any 
extensive  operations  in  planting  detached  posts,  but  it  was 
resolved  at  least  to  oppose  the  British  post  on  the  Spokane, 
if  such  there  really  were,  and  Mr.  David  Stuart  prepared 
to  carry  a  party  thither.  As  he  was  about  to  depart  there 
arrived  at  Astoria,  July  1 5th,  a  canoe  manned  by  nine  white 
men  and  bearing  the  British  flag.  It  proved  to  be  a  party 
under  David  Thompson,  a  partner  in  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany, whom  that  company  had  dispatched  the  previous  year 
to  anticipate  Astor  on  the  Columbia,  The  desertion  of 
most  of  his  party  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountains  had 
defeated  his  plan,  but  with  a  few  who  remained  faithful  he 
had  crossed  the  mountains  and  descended  the  Columbia  to 
the  sea.  He  was  the  first  white  man  to  explore  that  river 
above  the  point  where  it  was  reached  by  Lewis  and  Clark. 

The  presence  of  Thompson  was  regarded  with  much  mis- 
giving by  most  of  the  partners  except  AlcDougal,  who  not 
only  treated  him  with  great  hospitality,  but  actually  equip- 
ped him  for  the  return  journey.  Mr.  David  Stuart  did  not 
approve  of  this  manner  of  treating  competing  traders.  On 
the  23d  of  July  Stuart  and  his  party,  consisting  of  four 
clerks,  two  voyageurs,  and  two  Sandwich  Islanders,  set  out 
for  their  proposed  establishment  in  the  interior,  accompanied 
by  Mr.  Thompson  and  party.  Stuart  at  length  becoming 
very  distrustful  of  Thompson's  sincerity  got  rid  of  him  by 
a  ruse  and  pushed  on  alone.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Snake 
river  they  found  a  British  flag  attached  to  a  pole  and  on  it  a 
slip  of  paper  laying  claim  to  the  country  in  the  name  of 
Great  Britain.     It  would  appear  by  this  that  the  North- 


202  M  DOUGAL   AND   THE   SMALL-POX. 

westers  were  in  that  country  not  for  the  purpose  of  trade 
alone.  By  the  very  small  margin  of  three  months  they 
missed  the  opportunity  of  planting  the  British  flag  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia.  Stuart  continued  his  journey  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Okanagan  river,  five  hundred  and  forty 
miles  above  Astoria,  and  commenced  the  erection  of  a  trad- 
ing house  there  on  the  2d  of  September. 

After  the  sailing  of  the  Tonquin  and  the  departure  of 
Stuart  and  his  party  work  on  the  establishment  at  Astoria 
was  continued  with  vigor.  Presently,  however,  it  was  di- 
rected to  another  purpose,  that  of  defense,  for  substantial 
rumors  had  gotten  afloat  that  a  general  attack  by  the  neigh- 
boring tribes  was  impending.  A  strong  palisade  was  con- 
structed around  the  quarters,  flanked  by  bastions  upon  which 
were  mounted  four  four-pounders.  The  men  were  trained 
daily  in  the  use  of  their  arms,  and  all  preparations  were 
made  for  a  vigorous  defense  pending  the  arrival  of  the  over- 
land Astorians  or  the  return  of  the  Tonquin.  In  this  last 
resource,  unfortunately,  the  Astorians  were  doomed  to  dis- 
appointment, for  rumors  soon  began  to  arrive  from  the 
neighboring  Indians  of  a  terrible  disaster  to  the  Tonquin  — 
nothing  less  than  her  capture  and  destruction  by  the  Indians, 
and  the  massacre  of  her  crew.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that 
McDougal  is  said  to  have  practiced  a  piece  of  sharp  strat- 
egy on  the  Indians.  The  smallpox  had  ravaged  the  coast 
a  few  years  before,  and  the  Indians  remembered  it  with  the 
utmost  terror.  McDougal  assembled  the  chiefs  whom  he 
believed  to  be  in  conspiracy  against  the  Astorians,  drew 
forth  a  bottle,  told  them  that  it  contained  the  smallpox, 
which  he  could  spread  among  them  by  simply  uncorking  the 
bottle,  and  threatened  to  smite  them  on  the  first  evidence  of 
hostility.  The  terrified  Indians  promised  peace  and  kept 
their  word. 

On  the  26th  of  September  the  large  house  which  was  to 
serve  as  quarters  of  the  company  was  finished,  and  about 
the  same  time  the  small  schooner  also.  This  vessel  was 
launched  with  appropriate  ceremonies  on  the  2d  of  October, 


ARRIVAL    OF    THE    OVERLAND    ASTORIANS.  2O3 

and  was  christened  the  Dolly,  in  honor  of  Mr.  Astor's  wife. 
On  the  5th  of  October  a  party  from  Stuart's  post  on  the 
Okanagan  arrived,  consisting  of  two  clerks  and  two  men. 
They  reported  everything  satisfactory,  and  that  they  had 
returned  only  because  their  services  were  not  needed  during 
the  winter,  and  it  was  feared  that  there  would  not  be  pro- 
visions enough  for  all.  With  them  came  two  men,  Regis 
Brugiere,  a  free  trapper,  with  his  wife  and  two  children,  and 
an  Iroquois  hunter,  Ignace  Shonowane.  They  had  come 
from  the  east  by  the  way  of  the  Northwest  Company  route. 

Nothing  of  especial  interest  transpired  during  the  remain- 
der of  the  year.  The  rainy  season  set  in  about  the  first  of 
October.  The  Indians  withdrew  to  the  interior,  and  the  As- 
torians  were  compelled  to  make  considerable  use  of  the 
Dolly  in  foraging  expeditions.  A  party  was  dispatched 
under  Robert  Stuart  to  trap  on  the  Willamette,  thus  open- 
ing up  that  rich  and  productive  region  to  the  white  man. 

The  year  thus  closed  under  favorable  auspices,  and  the 
New  Year  was  welcomed  at  Astoria  with  due  pomp  and  cer- 
emony. Eighteen  days  later  Donald  McKenzie,  Robert 
McLellan,  John  Reed,  and  eight  men  arrived,  and  they  were 
followed  a  little  less  than  a  month  later  by  Hunt's  party,  con- 
sisting of  thirty-four  persons. 

On  the  22d  of  March  a  joint  party  set  out  from  Astoria 
for  the  several  purposes  of  carrying  supplies  to  the  post  at 
Okanagan,  of  visiting  Hunt's  caches  at  Snake  river,  and  of 
carrying  dispatches  to  New  York.  John  Reed  was  selected 
to  carry  the  dispatches,  and  for  their  better  security  he  sealed 
them  up  in  a  bright  tin  box,  which  he  strapped  upon  his  per- 
son. He  was  to  be  accompanied  by  McLellan,  Ben  Jones, 
and  two  Canadians.  Upon  arriving  at  the  "  Long  Nar- 
rows "  the  party  suffered  a  severe  attack  from  the  Indians,  in 
which  Robert  Stuart  and  McLellan  greatly  distinguished 
themselves,  and  Reed  lost  his  dispatches  and  almost  his  life. 
The  bright  tin  box,  by  attracting  the  attention  of  the  In- 
dians, had  caused  its  own  loss.  One  main  object  of  the  ex- 
pedition, viz.,  the  carrying  of  dispatches  to  Mr.  Astor,  being 


204  WAR   OF    l8l2    BEGUN. 

thus  frustrated,  the  visit  to  the  caches  was  hkewise  given 
up,  and  the  whole  party  went  on  to  David  Stuart's  post  on 
the  Okanagan,  where  they  arrived  on  the  24th  of  April. 
Four  days  later  they  set  out  to  return,  accompanied  by 
Stuart,  who  had  conducted  a  successful  winter's  trade  at 
Okanagan  and  at  a  branch  post  which  he  had  established  on 
Thompson  river.  About  the  ist  of  May  they  met  Ramsay 
Crooks  and  John  Day,  who  were  traveling  up  the  river  in 
sorry  plight  from  their  recent  despoilment  by  the  Indians. 
The  entire  party  reached  Astoria  on  the  nth  of  May. 

The  day  before  this  there  had  arrived  at  Astoria  the  com- 
pany's ship,  Beaver,  Captain  Cornelius  Sowles,  which  had 
been  dispatched  from  New  York  by  Mr.  Astor,  October  10, 
181 1.  Besides  an  abundant  cargo  she  brought  John  Clarke, 
a  partner,  Ross  Cox,  Alfred  Seton,  and  four  other  clerks, 
quite  a  number  of  American  and  Canadian  employes,  and 
several  Sandwich  Islanders.  The  arrival  of  this  ship  was  an 
important  event  to  the  new  establishment,  for  it  placed 
everything  on  a  substantial  basis,  and  gave  the  enterprise 
every  prospect  of  a  successful  issue.  This  bright  gleam  of 
sunshine  was  not  yet  for  a  time  to  be  overclouded  by  the 
sinister  events  which  were  now  transpiring  in  the  busy  world 
outside.  A  little  more  than  a  month  later,  when  all  was 
bustle  and  activity  at  Astoria,  in  preparation  for  the  first 
systematic  trading  expedition  to  the  interior,  there  transpired 
that  event  which  was  to  prove  the  downfall  of  the  enter- 
prise. War  was  declared  by  the  United  States  against 
Great  Britain  on  the  19th  of  June,  181 2. 

In  formulating  their  plans  for  the  ensuing  year  the  part- 
ners determined  that  Mr.  Hunt  should  carry  out  the  mari- 
time part  of  Mr.  Astor's  enterprise,  which  related  to  supply- 
ing the  Russian  posts.  This  assignment  of  duty  was  a  great 
mistake,  though  possibly  an  innocent  one,  on  the  part  of  all 
concerned.  It  deprived  the  establishment  of  the  one  man 
who,  if  any  one,  could  have  grappled  successfully  with  the 
approaching  crisis. 

On  the  29th  of  June  there  set  out  for  the  interior  a  large 


EXPEDITION    TO    INTERIOR.  205 

party  of  some  sixty  individuals,  charged  with  the  following- 
purposes:  David  Stuart,  with  clerks  Matthews  and  Mc- 
Gillis,  was  to  proceed  to  Okanagan  and  conduct  the  trade 
in  that  section ;  John  Clarke,  with  clerks  Pillet,  McLennan, 
Farnham,  and  Cox,  was  to  establish  a  central  post  at  Spo- 
kane, in  opposition  to  the  Northwest  Company,  and  subor- 
dinate posts  among  the  surrounding  tribes ;  McKenzie,  with 
clerks  Seton  and  Reed,  was  to  establish  a  post  on  the  Snake 
river  among  the  Nez  Perces,  and  to  secure  the  goods  left  in 
the  caches  at  the  Caldron  Linn ;  Robert  Stuart,  with  a  small 
party,  was  to  carry  dispatches  to  New  York. 

Everything  proceeded  prosperously  and  without  notable 
incident,  until  the  various  expeditions  reached  their  posts. 
The  several  parties  separated  about  the  31st  of  July,  near  the 
mou-th  of  the  Walla  Walla.  David  Stuart  arrived  at  Okan- 
agan on  the  1 2th  of  August,  and  on  the  25th  of  that  month 
went  among  the  tribe  of  Indians  on  Thompsoij  river,  where 
he  remained  during  the  winter,  leaving  Alexander  Ross  in 
charge  of  the  post.  Clarke  arrived  at  the  site  of  his  pro- 
posed establishment  on  the  21st  of  August,  and  immediately 
commenced  the  construction  of  a  house.  The  clerks  were 
later  dispatched  to  trade  among  the  various  tribes  —  Farn- 
ham and  Cox  among  the  Flatheads,  McLennan  among  the 
Coeur  d'Alenes,  and  Pillet  among  the  Kootenais.  McKen- 
zie proceeded  up  the  Snake  river  to  a  point  not  certainly 
known,  but  probably  near  the  mouth  of  the  Clearwater  river, 
and  after  having  commenced  the  establishment  of  his  post, 
dispatched  J^eed  to  Hunt's  caches  at  the  Caldron  Linn. 

The  several  detachments  in  the  interior  carried  out  their 
programs  without  notable  adventure,  and  it  will  be  of  im- 
portance to  note  here  only  one  incident,  the  visit  of  Reed  to 
the  caches.  After  assisting  McKenzie  to  establish  his  post, 
Reed  set  out  for  the  caches,  probably  about  September  ist, 
expecting  to  reach  them  in  twenty  days.  The  first  notable 
incident  of  the  trip  was  finding  at  a  camp  of  Shoshone  In- 
dians seven  men  of  Hunt's  overland  party.  They  were  Car- 
son, Delauney,  and  St.  Michael,  of  the  party  who  had  been 


206  REED   VISITS    THE    CACHES. 

detached  by  Hunt  on  Snake  river  October  i,  1811,  and  Du- 
breuil,  La  Chapelle,  Turcot,  and  Landry,  who  had  been  left 
by  Crooks  in  the  mountains  the  preceding  winter. 

The  three  men,  La  Chapelle,  Turcot,  and  Landry,  after 
Crooks  had  left  them,  returned  to  the  Snake  encampment  on 
the  borders  of  the  river.  Being  destitute  of  provisions  and 
equipment,  they  proposed  to  the  Snakes  to  visit  the  caches  at 
Caldron  Linn.  This  was  done,  and  six  of  the  nine  caches 
were  rifled  of  their  contents.  The  Indians  and  the  four 
hunters  then  went  on  a  grand  hunting  expedition  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  Missouri,  where  they  were  set  upon  by  the 
Blackfeet  and  robbed  of  all  they  possessed.  They  then  re- 
turned to  the  Snake  country,  where  they  fell  in  with  Du- 
breuil,  whom  Crooks  and  Day  had  left  in  the  mountains  the 
preceding  March.  Soon  after  this  they  were  joined  by  Car- 
son, Delauney  and  St.  Michael.  These  three  men,  who,  with 
Detaye,  had  been  left  by  Hunt  on  Snake  river  the  pre- 
vious autumn,  made  a  fall  and  winter  hunt  in  that  locality, 
and  went  to  the  Missouri  river  in  the  spring  of  1812.  Here 
they  were  attacked  by  the  Crows,  who  robbed  them  of  every- 
thing and  killed  Detaye.  The  report  of  their  presence 
among  the  Crows  found  its  way  to  St.  Louis  that  fall 
through  some  of  Lisa's  men,  and  was  forwarded  to  Mr. 
Astor  in  the  following  January.  After  this  misfortune  the 
survivors  went  back  to  the  Snake  country,  where  they  joined 
the  party  of  four,  as  just  stated.  Delauney  had  with  him 
an  Indian  wife,  whom  he  had  picked  up  in  his  wanderings. 
Reed,  after  falling  in  with  these  seven  men,  went  on  to  the 
caches,  where  he  took  what  property  was  left,  saw  Edward 
Robinson,  received  news  of  Stuart's  safe  journey  thus  far, 
and  then  returned  to  McKenzie's  post,  after  an  absence  of 
thirty-five  days. 

It  was  July  28th  that  Robert  Stuart  and  his  companions 
arrived  at  Walla  Walla,  in  company  with  the  large  party 
which  left  Astoria  on  the  29th  of  June  for  various  points  in 
the  interior.  Stuart  at  once  prepared  to  set  out  on  his  long 
journey  to  St.  Louis  and  New  York.     With  him  were 


J I 


THE    SNAKE    AND    THE    HORSE.  20/ 

Crooks  and  McLellan,  who  were  tired  of  the  enterprise,  and 
were  determined  to  return  home;  and  also  Andri  Vallar, 
Ben  Jones,  and  Francis  Leclerc  —  six  in  all.  John  Day, 
who  intended  to  return,  had  become  violently  insane  on  the 
way  up  from  Astoria,  and  it  was  necessary  to  send  him  back. 
The  little  party  set  out  from  Walla  Walla  on  the  31st  of 
July  and,  without  other  incident  than  that  of  very  hard  trav- 
eling, arrived,  on  the  12th  of  August,  on  the  banks  of  Snake 
river,  just  above  the  point  where  it  enters  the  Blue  moun- 
tains. They  followed  up  the  south  bank  on  their  way  to 
Caldron  Linn.  The  first  incident  of  importance  on  this 
part  of  the  journey  was  the  meeting  of  a  Snake  Indian  who 
claimed  ownership  of  Stuart's  horse  —  a  fine  steed  which 
Stuart  desired  to  take  to  New  York  as  a  present  to  Mr. 
Astor.  This  Indian  had  been  one  of  Hunt's  guides  from  the 
mouth  of  Hoback  river  to  Fort  Henry  the  previous  year, 
and  was  one  of  the  two  men  who  had  been  left  at  the  latter 
place  in  charge  of  the  horses.  From  him  it  was  learned 
that  the  horses  had  been  stolen,  the  caches  at  Caldron  Linn 
robbed,  the  various  hunting  parties  scattered,  and  that  the 
survivors  were  in  great  distress.  The  Indian  was  engaged 
as  a  guide,  but  on  the  night  of  August  i8th  absconded  with 
Stuart's  horse. 

On  the  20th  of  August  the  party  came  upon  four  of  the 
hunters  who  had  been  detached  at  Fort  Henry  on  the  loth 
of  the  preceding  October.  They  were  Miller,  Hoback,  Rob- 
inson, and  Rezner.  They  gave  to  Stuart  an  account  of 
their  wanderings,  and  a  doleful  narrative  it  was.  After 
leaving  Fort  Henry  they  went  south  upwards  of  two  hun- 
dred miles  and  trapped  on  a  river  which,  they  said,  dis- 
charged itself  into  the  Pacific  ocean.  It  is  highly  probable 
that  this  stream  was  the  present  Bear  river,  Utah,  and  that 
these  men  visited  Great  Salt  Lake.  After  a  successful  hunt, 
they  proceeded  east  for  several  hundred  miles,  where  they 
were  robbed  by  a  band  of  Arapahoes.  They  wintered  in 
this  vicinity,  and  in  the  following  spring  were  again  robbed 
by  the  same  Indians. 


208  HOBACK,    ROBINSON    AND    REZNER. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Cass  was  lost  to  the  party. 
They  told  Stuart  that  he  had  deserted  them  in  their  extrem- 
ity, taking  with  him  their  last  remaining  horse.  It  is  hardly 
conceivable  that  he  should  thus  voluntarily  have  forfeited  the 
only  protection  to  be  found  in  that  remote  wilderness,  and 
further  doubt  is  cast  upon  the  story  by  the  fact  that  Robin- 
son a  short  time  after  gave  a  different  version  of  it  to  Reed, 
viz.,  that  Cass  had  been  killed  in  one  of  the  affairs  with  the 
Arapahoes.  Uncharitable  individuals  believed  that  he  had 
been  killed  by  his  companions  to  allay  the  cravings  of  hun- 
ger, but  of  this  there  is  no  evidence,  and  the  general  good 
character  of  the  four  survivors  precludes  the  possibility  of 
believing  it. 

The  hunters  then  proceeded  westwardly  during  the  spring 
and  summer,  becoming  reduced  to  abject  want,  and  when 
found  were  on  the  very  brink  of  starvation  and  were  sub- 
sisting upon  fish. 

Stuart's  augmented  party  now  proceeded  to  the  Caldron 
Linn,  where  they  arrived  on  the  29th  of  August.  They 
found  six  of  the  nine  caches  robbed,  and  after  taking  from 
those  remaining  the  things  they  needed,  they  closed  them 
up,  pending  the  expected  arrival  of  Reed.  Hoback,  Robin- 
son, and  Rezner  concluded  to  try  their  luck  again,  and  were 
accordingly  outfitted  for  another  hunt.  Miller  decided  to 
leave  the  country. 

The  party,  numbering  seven  after  the  accession  of  Miller, 
left  the  Caldron  Linn  on  the  ist  of  September,  and  continued 
up  the  river.  On  the  7th  they  abandoned  the  river,  strik- 
ing off  to  the  southeast  under  the  guidance  of  Miller,  and  on 
the  9th  reached  Bear  river,  to  which  Stuart  gave  the  name 
Miller.  Continuing  up  the  river  until  the  12th,  they  en- 
countered a  band  of  Crows,  who  stayed  with  them  that  night 
and  displayed  a  decided  inclination  to  give  them  trouble. 
The  party  got  away  successfully,  however,  on  the  13th,  but 
left  the  river,  which  here  flows  from  the  south,  and  turned 
off  due  east  over  the  mountains.  Coming  upon  a  consid- 
erable tributary  flowing  from  the  north,  they  abandoned 


SEEKING    HUNT  S    TRAIL.  20g 

their  eastern  course  and  ascended  its  valley.  It  was  here  that 
the  great  mistake  of  the  returning  overland  expedition  was 
committed.  The  party  had  so  far  followed  practically  what 
was  afterward  the  Oregon  Trail.  They  could  scarcely  have 
improved  upon  it,  except  in  the  smaller  details.  But  being 
wholly  unacquainted  with  the  country,  they  fancied  that 
Miller  had  led  them  too  far  south  and  away  off  from  their 
proper  course.  Moreover,  that  indescribable  bewilderment 
which  is  expressed  by  the  word  "  lost,"  and  which  only  those 
who  have  lost  their  bearings  in  a  wild  and  unsettled  country 
can  appreciate,  had  come  upon  the  party,  and  their  great 
desire  now  was  to  get  back  to  Hunt's  route  and  follow  it  to 
the  Missouri.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  the  state  of  mind 
which  could  lead  men  to  such  a  pass  of  absurdity  as  is  in- 
dicated by  their  route  for  the  next  month.  The  reader 
should  examine  the  map  and  note  the  camping  places  of  the 
13th  of  September  and  the  20th  of  October.  They  are 
scarcely  six  days'  journey  apart,  and  the  passage  would  have 
been  made  in  that  time,  had  not  these  bewildered  overland- 
ers  forgotten  that  the  sun  rises  in  the  east. 

Having  decided  to  regain  Hunt's  route,  they  traveled 
north  up  the  stream  they  were  then  on,  over  a  divide  to  what 
is  now  Salt  river,  and  down  that  stream  to  the  Snake,  which 
they  reached  nearly  where  the  present  boundary  line  between 
Wyoming  and  Utah  crosses  the  river.  They  arrived  here 
on  the  1 8th  of  September.  The  next  morning  they  were 
robbed  of  all  their  horses  by  the  very  band  of  Crows  whom 
they  had  lately  met  on  Bear  river.  The  party,  now  without 
horses,  set  out  dozvn  Snake  river,  as  If  on  their  way  back 
to  Astoria.  If  they  had  gone  up  stream  they  would  have 
struck  Hunt's  trail  at  the  mouth  of  Hoback  river,  within 
a  distance  of  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles.  On  the  second  day 
they  built  a  raft  and  undertook  to  cross  to  the  north  shore. 
Finding  that  it  floated  well  they  remained  in  the  stream  for 
nearly  a  week,  and  made  in  all,  from  the  mouth  of  Salt  river, 
about  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  of  retrograde  course. 

Having  now  passed  the  main  part  of  the  range  of  moun- 


2IO  LECLERC  S   DESPERATE   PROPOSAL. 

tains  along  the  right  bank,  and  judging  the  passage  to  be 
easy,  they  concluded  to  leave  the  river  and  cross  into  the  val- 
ley of  Pierre's  Hole,  through  which  Hunt  had  passed  the 
preceding  autumn.  They  were  very  apprehensive  of  dan- 
ger from  the  Blackfeet  and  took  extra  precautions  not  to  at- 
tract the  attention  of  any  bands  that  might  be  in  the  vicin- 
ity. One  of  these  precautionary  measures  was  to  pass  over 
a  high  hill  or  mountain  that  they  might  more  easily  have 
passed  around,  but  would  have  exposed  themselves  to  par- 
ties in  the  plain  below.  McLellan,  tired  out  with  the  hard- 
ships of  the  journey,  flatly  refused  to  undergo  this  extra 
labor.  He  struck  off  alone  around  the  base  of  the  moun- 
tain, and  was  not  seen  for  thirteen  days  afterward. 

The  following  night,  October  ist,  Crooks  was  taken  seri- 
ously ill,  and  the  party  remained  in  camp  in  Pierre's  Hole 
for  four  days.  On  the  5th  the  journey  was  resumed  along 
Hunt's  old  route,  who  must  have  passed  this  point  almost 
exactly  a  year  before.  The  party  continued  their  way  on 
the  difficult  route  by  which  they  had  come  and  which  was 
particularly  precipitous  and  dangerous  along  Hoback  river. 
On  the  1 2th  they  reached  Green  river  and  descended  that 
stream  for  a  distance.  The  next  day  they  overtook  McLel- 
lan, whom  they  found  ready  to  give  up  in  despair.  None  of 
the  party  had  had  anything  to  eat  for  upwards  of  three  days, 
and  so  great  was  their  hunger  that  it  led  one  of  them,  Le- 
clerc,  to  propose  to  Stuart  at  the  evening  encampment  that 
lots  should  be  cast  to  see  which  should  be  killed  for  the  sal- 
vation of  the  rest.  The  fellow  was  so  persistent  that 
Stuart  was  obliged  to  threaten  his  life  if  he  did  not  desist. 

The  following  day  fortune  favored  the  party  with  an  old 
buffalo  bull,  which  perhaps  saved  them  from  starvation. 
They  did  not  follow  Green  river  far,  but  bore  off  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Wind  River  mountains  and  took  a  general  south- 
easterly course  along  the  base  of  this  range.  In  their  prog- 
ress away  from  the  river  they  crossed  a  large  Indian  trail, 
probably  the  regular  highway  down  Green  river  valley. 
They  kept  on  their  way  with  fair  progress,  having  picked 


PARTY    MISS    SOUTH    PASS.  211 

up  some  game  en  route,  and  on  the  i8th  of  October  luckily 
came  upon  a  camp  of  about  a  hundred  Snake  Indians,  from 
whom  they  secured  a  quantity  of  provisions  and  a  horse. 
From  these  Indians  they  learned  that  a  large  band  of  Crows 
were  encamped  to  the  east  of  the  mountains  in  a  river  valley, 
probably  that  of  the  Sweetwater,  in  Wyoming. 

Setting  out  next  morning  they  soon  came  again  upon  the 
large  Indian  trail  which  they  had  crossed  some  days  before, 
and  as  it  led  in  their  direction  they  followed  it  the  rest  of 
the  day  and  part  of  the  next.  But  early  on  the  20th  they 
found  that  it  turned  abruptly  to  the  northeast,  and  as  they 
feared  to  get  any  closer  to  the  party  that  had  passed  along  it, 
they  abandoned  it  and  kept  on  to  the  southeast.  It  is  prob- 
able that  at  this  point  they  were  again  on  the  line  of  the  Ore- 
gon Trail  of  later  years,  and  had  they  followed  the  Indian 
Trail,  they  would  that  day  have  discovered  and  crossed  the 
celebrated  South  Pass,  which  holds  so  conspicuous  a  place 
in  the  history  of  the  West. 

Turning  east  on  the  21st  of  October  the  little  party  con- 
tinued for  five  days  over  the  barren  and  desolate  wastes 
just  south  of  the  Sweetwater  mountains,  Wyoming,  meeting 
with  no  incident  of  special  interest.  On  the  26th  they 
turned  to  the  northeast,  and  after  passing  through  a  gap  in 
the  mountains  found  themselves  in  a  beautiful  open  valley 
and  on  the  willowed  banks  of  a  strong,  clear  mountain 
stream,  none  other  than  the  Sweetwater  river.  Here  they 
spent  the  following  day,  hunting  buffalo.  Resuming  their 
course  on  the  27th,  they  wound  their  way  slowly  down  the 
plentiful  valley,  passing  the  sites  of  what  later  were  known 
as  the  Devil's  Gate  and  Independence  Rock,  and  arrived  on 
the  30th  at  the  main  stream  of  the  North  Platte.  During 
the  following  day  they  passed  that  sublime  and  august  nat- 
ural formation  now  known  as  the  Upper  Platte  canon,  but 
which,  from  the  red  color  of  the  rocks  and  the  turbulent 
condition  of  the  river  below,  they  named  the  "  Fiery  Nar- 
rows." 

The  river  in  this  part  of  its  course  bore  so  strongly  to  the 


212  FIRST    WINTER    QUARTERS. 

northeast  that  the  travelers  were  led  quite  astray  in  their 
conjectures  as  to  its  identity.  It  did  not  seem  possible  to 
them  that  it  could  be  the  Platte,  and  they  concluded  that  it 
must  be  the  Cheyenne  or  Niobrara,  or  some  other  stream  in 
that  general  direction.  This  erroneous  conclusion  and  the 
increasing  evidences  of  approaching  winter  led  the  explorers 
into  their  second  serious  mistake,  that  of  deciding  to  go  into 
winter  quarters  without  attempting  to  reach  St.  Louis  that 
fall.  It  was  still  only  the  end  of  October,  and  in  all  the  sec- 
tion of  country  which  they  were  to  traverse,  the  months  of 
November  and  December  are,  for  the  most  part,  months  of 
pleasant  weather.  They  could  easily  have  reached  the  Mis- 
souri by  the  middle  of  December  and  St.  Louis  by  the  end 
of  the  year,  or  soon  after,  thus  saving  four  months'  time. 
They  decided,  however,  to  go  into  winter  quarters,  and  ac- 
cordingly, having  come  upon  a  fine  bend  of  the  river  with  a 
beautiful  wooded  bottom,  which  afforded  shelter  and  protec- 
tion against  storms,  with  abundant  promise  of  game,  they 
commenced  the  construction  of  a  cabin  on  the  2nd  of  No- 
vember. ^ 

For  the  next  six  weeks  everything  moved  off  prosper- 
ously. The  location  fully  satisfied  their  expectations,  and 
their  new  cabin  was  soon  hung  full  of  wholesome  buffalo 
meat,  a  sure  guarantee  against  the  danger  of  starvation. 
But  alas !  in  the  midst  of  this  apparent  security,  they  were 
visited  one  morning  by  the  same  band  of  Arapahoes  who  had 
robbed  Miller  and  his  party  the  previous  year.  The  Indians 
hung  around  for  two  days,  and  although  they  committed  no 
violence  to  speak  of,  they  succeeded  in  getting  nearly  all  the 
little  party's  supply  of  meat.  After  their  departure  it  was 
resolved  to  abandon  the  place  at  once,  inasmuch  as  their  se- 
curity there  was  at  an  end.  They  accordingly  set  out  down 
the  river  on  the  13th  of  December.  They  found  traveling, 
after  their  repose  and  comfort,  very  annoying,  particularly 

'  This  was  the  first  building  within  the  limits  of  the  present  state 
of  Wyoming.  The  site  was  in  the  beautiful  bottom  half  enclosed  by  a 
great  bend  of  the  river  opposite  the  mouth  of  Poison  Spider  creek. 


ARRIVAL    AT    ST.    LOUIS.  21 3 

as  the  ground  was  now  covered  with  snow.  They  con- 
tinued, nevertheless,  for  two  weeks,  having  traveled  by  their 
estimate  three  hundred  and  thirty  miles,  when  they  found 
themselves  entirely  out  of  the  mountains  and  upon  the 
prairies  below.  Rightly  judging  this  time  that  they  were 
upon  the  Platte,  and  that  at  so  late  a  season  of  the  year  it 
would  be  extremely  perilous  to  undertake  to  reach  the  Mis- 
souri, they  determined  to  retrograde  until  they  should  find  a 
suitable  place  to  go  into  winter  quarters  again.  They  went 
back  for  three  days  over  an  estimated  distance  of  seventy- 
seven  miles,  and  having  found  a  suitable  camping  ground, 
went  into  quarters  again  on  the  30th  of  December,  1812. 
Here  they  remained  undisturbed  until  spring.  This  situa- 
tion was  about  where  Wellesville,  Nebraska,  now  stands. 

During  the  winter  they  constructed  some  canoes,  and  on 
the  8th  of  March  broke  up  their  encampment  and  started  for 
the  Missouri.  They  made  very  little  progress  for  the  first 
twelve  days  and  had  to  abandon  their  canoes  almost  at  the 
outset. 

The  party  were  well  on  their  way  again  by  the  20th  of 
March  and  proceeded  without  notable  incident  until  the  13th 
of  April,  when  they  arrived  at  the  village  of  the  Oto  Indians, 
already  familiar  ground  to  Crooks  and  McLellan.  Here 
they  first  learned  of  the  existence  of  war  with  Great  Britain. 
They  now  traded  their  horse  for  a  canoe,  and  on  the  morn- 
ing of  April  1 6th  resumed  their  journey.  On  the  i8th  they 
entered  the  Missouri,  and  having  found  soon  after  a  desert- 
ed canoe,  larger  and  better  than  their  own,  they  took  posses- 
sion of  it.  They  stopped  for  a  short  time  at  Fort  Osage 
and  arrived  at  St.  Louis  "  in  perfect  health  and  fine  spirits  " 
on  the  ^oth  of  April,  1813. 

Their  arrival  made  a  great  sensation  in  the  little  town,  for 
nothing  definite  had  been  heard  from  Mr.  Hunt's  party  for 
nearly  two  years.  The  Missouri  Ga::ctte  chronicled  the 
event  with  a  brief  reference  to  their  impressions  of  the  trip 


214  THE    RETURN    ROUTE. 

and  in  its  issue  of  May  15th  published  quite  a  lengthy  ac- 
count of  their  journey  and  of  the  loss  of  the  Tonquin} 

This  overland  journey  consumed  three  hundred  and  six 
days,  as  against  three  hundred  and  forty  days  on  Hunt's 
journey.  If  we  deduct  the  time  uselessly  lost  in  the  absurd 
northern  detour  from  Bear  river  to  Snake  river  and  the  time 
spent  in  winter  quarters,  and  lost  in  the  attempt  to  navigate 
the  Platte,  that  actually  consumed  on  the  journey  will  be 
found  to  have  been  only  one  hundred  and  eighty  days,  and 
the  party  should  have  reached  St.  Louis  by  Christmas  of 
1812. 

The  route  pursued  on  the  return  journey  was,  with  three 
exceptions,  that  of  the  Oregon  Trail  of  later  years.  Stuart's 
party  kept  south  of  Snake  river,  instead  of  crossing  and  fol- 
lowing the  line  of  the  Boise.  They  also  missed  the  line 
from  Bear  river  to  the  Devil's  Gate,  although  near  it  a  good 
deal  of  the  way.  From  Grand  Island  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Kansas  they  followed  the  rivers,  instead  of  crossing  the  an- 
gle between  them,  as  the  Trail  did  afterward.  All  of  these 
variations  from  the  true  route  would  have  been  avoided  on 
another  journey.  The  two  Astorian  expeditions,  therefore, 
are  entitled  to  the  credit  of  having  practically  opened  ap  the 
Oregon  Trail  from  the  Missouri  river  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Kansas  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river. 

*  These  articles  were  the  first  public  account  of  the  Astorian  expedi- 
tion. That  relating  to  the  overland  journeys  was  reprinted  in  the 
Appendix  of  the  Journals  of  Bradbury  and  Brackenridge.  The  ac- 
count of  the  loss  of  the  Tonquin  has  never  been  reproduced  until  in  the 
present  work.     See  Appendix  C. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ASTORIA. 
THE  COURSE  OF  EVENTS  ON  THE  COLUMBIA. 

News  of  the  outbreak  of  war  —  Action  of  McKenzie  and  McDougal  — 
Partners  return  from  the  interior  —  Manifesto  of  the  partners  —  Hunt 
returns  to  Astoria  and  immediately  departs  again  —  Arrival  of  the 
Northwest  brigade — Sea-farings  of  Mr.  Hunt  —  His  delay  at  the  Rus- 
sian establishments  — Sails  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  —  Captain  Sowles' 
conduct  at  Canton  —  Hunt  sails  to  Astoria  in  the  Albatross  —  Returns 
to  Sandwich  Islands  —  The  Lark  wrecked  —  Hunt  returns  to  Astoria 
in  the  Pedler  —  Hunt's  arrangement  with  McDougal  —  Sale  of  Astoria 
—  Arrival  of  the  Raccoon  —  Astoria  rechristened  Fort  George  —  Clos- 
ing scenes  at  Astoria  —  Home  journey  of  the  Astorians  —  Departure  of 
the  Northwest  brigade  —  Sad  fate  of  John  Reed's  party. 

^nV  R.  HUNT,  the  chief  partner,  having  sailed  from  the 
'*'■■•'  Columbia,  and  Crooks  and  McLellan  having 
returned  to  the  United  States,  the  control  of  affairs  at  Asto- 
ria fell  upon  Duncan  McDougal,  and  the  whole  enterprise 
on  the  Columbia  was  practically  in  the  hands  of  British 
subjects.  They  were  good,  energetic  men,  however,  and  in 
ordinary  times  would  have  been  as  serviceable  to  the  estab- 
lishment as  any  one  else.  The  summer  and  fall  of  1812 
passed  away  prosperously  both  at  Astoria  and  at  the 
detached  posts  with  the  exception  of  McKenzie's.  In  the 
midst  of  this  promising  outlook,  as  in  an  unclouded  sky,  a 
menace  of  impending  doom  appeared  like  a  black  cloud 
gathering  on  the  horizon.  McKenzie,  from  the  time  when 
he  was  superseded  by  Hunt,  had  been  out  of  sympathy  with 
the  enterprise.  His  establishment  on  Snake  river  among 
the  Nez  Perce  Indians  did  not  satisfy  him  for  some  reason, 
and  he  concluded  to  remove  it  to  another  point.     Before 


2l6  NEWS   OF   THE   OUTBREAK   OF   WAR. 

doing  so  he  decided  to  visit  Clarke  at  Spokane  and  get  his 
advice.  While  at  Clarke's  post,  some  time  in  December, 
John  George  McTavish  and  Joseph  La  Roque  of  the  North- 
west Company  arrived,  bringing  news  of  the  Declaration  of 
War,  and  stating  that  the  armed  ship  Isaac  Todd  was 
expected  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  in  the  following 
March.  McKenzie  did  not  wait  to  secure  the  advice  of 
Clarke,  but  without  consulting  him  went  back  to  his  post, 
broke  up  the  establishment,  cached  his  goods,  and  with  all 
his  people  set  out  for  Astoria,  where  he  arrived  January  15, 

McKenzie  and  McDougal  concluded  that  war  had  made 
the  situation  hopeless,  and  after  a  sort  of  council  of  war,  at 
which  the  clerks  were  silent  witnesses,  they  determined  to 
abandon  the  enterprise  in  the  following  spring  and  return 
across  the  mountains.  Some  time  during  the  month  of 
March  following,  McKenzie  set  out  for  the  interior  with 
Seton  and  Reed  to  visit  the  caches  at  his  late  establishment, 
and  to  inform  Clarke  and  Stuart  of  the  action  taken  at 
Astoria.  At  a  point  not  far  above  the  Dalles  he  met  a  party 
in  two  canoes  en  route  for  Astoria,  under  the  command  of 
John  George  McTavish.  The  two  parties  passed  a  jovial 
and  companionable  night  together,  quite  unlike  the  rela- 
tions of  competing  traders,  and  in  the  morning  took  their 
respective  ways.  When  McKenzie  arrived  at  the  caches  he 
found  them  robbed.  He  at  once  commenced  search  for  the 
property  and  in  the  meanwhile  sent  Reed  to  Spokane  and 
Okanagan  with  letters  from  McDougal.  McKenzie,  after 
a  great  deal  of  trouble,  succeeded  in  recovering  most  of  his 
stolen  property  as  well  as  in  purchasing  a  large  number  of 
horses.  Having  accomplished  these  purposes  he  repaired 
to  Walla  Walla,  the  agreed  rendezvous  of  the  wintering 
partners  before  returning  to  Astoria.  Stuart  and  Clarke 
joined  him  there  by  the  4th  of  June.     The  joint  party  set 

*  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  seven  men  whom  Reed  picked  up  on 
his  way  to  the  caches  arrived  at  Astoria  —  the  last  of  the  overland 
Astorians  to  complete  the  journey. 


MANIFESTO    OF   THE    PARTNERS.  217 

out  for  Astoria  on  the  5th  and  arrived  at  that  place  on  the 
14th  with  the  returns  of  the  winter's  trade.  Already  those 
from  the  Willamette  had  been  received. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  partners  at  Astoria  the  situation 
of  affairs  was  seriously  considered,  McKenzie  and  McDou- 
gal  being  in  favor  of  abandoning  the  enterprise,  and  Clarke 
and  Stuart  opposing  it.  The  vehement  appeals  of  McKen- 
zie finally  carried  the  day,  and  Clarke  and  Stuart  reluctantly 
joined  in  signing,  July  i,  181 3,  a  manifesto  which  set  forth 
the  reasons  for  abandonment.  These  were  briefly  that  the 
non-arrival  of  the  Beaver  had  left  them  without  supplies,  > 
while  the  existence  of  war  rendered  their  arrival  in  the  1 
future  doubtful ;  that  the  interior  trade  had  not  come  up  to  | 
their  expectations ;  and  that  they  were  not  able  to  withstand 
the  competition  of  the  powerful  Northwest  Company.  It 
was  decided  to  abandon  the  undertaking  the  ist  of  June, 
1 814.  In  the  meanwhile  Messrs.  Clarke  and  Stuart  were 
to  return  to  their  posts  for  the  winter.  Reed  was  to  go  to 
the  Snake  country,  and  McKenzie  to  the  valley  of  the 
Willamette.  The  post  of  Spokane  was  sold  to  the  North- 
west Company,  and  three  of  the  clerks,  Ross,  Cox,  and 
McLennan,  entered  the  service  of  that  company. 

McTavish,  who  had  now  been  at  Astoria  for  nearly  three 
months,  engaged  to  send  dispatches  across  the  country  to 
Astor.  McDougal  sold  him  the  necessary  provisions,  and 
he  and  Laroque  set  out  with  Cox  on  the  5th  of  July, 
accompanied  by  Clarke,  Stuart,  and  Reed  as  far  as  to  their 
respective  points  of  divergence.  The  parties  arrived  safely 
at  their  destinations.  Laroque  and  Cox,  who  had  been 
entrusted  with  the  dispatches  for  the  east,  had  reached  the 
point  where  they  were  to  leave  the  Columbia  and  cross  the 
mountains,  when  on  September  2nd  they  were  met  by  the 
Northwest  Brigade  under  John  Stuart  and  Joseph  McGilli- 
vray,  who  were  on  their  way  to  Astoria,  armed  with  full 
powers  to  treat  for  the  purchase  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company. 
Cox  and  Laroque  accordingly  turned  back  and  the  whole 
party  arrived  at  Astoria  October  7th. 


2l8  SEA-FARINGS    OF    MR.  HUNT. 

In  the  meanwhile  Mr.  Hunt  had  returned  to  Astoria  after 
a  year's  absence.  Finding  that  the  course  of  events  had 
already  gone  so  far  that  he  could  not  change  it,  he  made  the 
necessary  arrangements  with  Mr.  McDougal  for  closing  up 
Mir.  Astor's  affairs  on  the  Columbia.  He  remained  at  Asto- 
ria only  a  week,  arriving  August  21st,  and  departing  August 
26th  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  ship  in  which  to  take 
away  Mr.  Astor's  property  and  to  transport  the  Sandwich 
Islanders  home. 

On  the  2nd  of  October  following,  McKenzie  started  for 
the  interior  to  carry  the  news  of  the  arrangement  with  Mr. 
Hunt  and  to  bring  down  the  Sandwich  Islanders.  Three 
days  later  he  met  the  Northwest  Brigade  and  returned  with 
it  to  Astoria. 

It  is  now  necessary  to  see  what  Mr.  Hunt  was  doing  all 
this  time,  and  to  follow  his  ubiquitous  wanderings  over  the 
Pacific  ocean  by  which  he  was  kept  away  from  Astoria 
when  the  fate  of  the  enterprise  on  the  Columbia  was  being 
decided.  Mr.  Hunt  sailed  in  the  Beaver  August  4,  181 2, 
to  carry  out  Mr.  Astor's  plans  of  trade  with  the  Russian  Fur 
Company,  although  it  is  very  evident  that  Mr.  Astor  would 
scarcely  have  wished  to  have  Mr.  Hunt  the  individual  to 
take  charge  of  it.  He  tmderstood  too  well  the  importance 
of  having  that  gentleman  at  Astoria.  But  it  was  decided 
otherwise  by  the  partners,  and  perhaps  none  of  the  others 
were  qualified  for  that  kind  of  an  undertaking.  Mr.  Hunt 
sailed  to  New  Archangel,  arriving  there  on  the  19th  of 
August,  18 1 2,  armed  with  Mr.  Astor's  arrangement  with  the 
Russian  government  and  company.  Although  the  com- 
mandant of  the  post  had  no  apparent  objections  to  the 
arrangement  and  willingly  received  the  goods,  he  was  so 
intolerably  procrastinating  in  bringing  the  business  to  an  end 
that  a  month  and  a  half  elapsed  before  Hunt  could  get  away. 
A  still  further  delay  was  caused  by  the  method  of  payment, 
which  was  made  in  seal  skins,  and  as  there  happened  to  be 
none  at  the  establishment,  the  ship  was  obliged  to  proceed  to 
the  distant  island  of  St.  Paul  on  the  confines  of  Behringr  sea 


TIMID    COUNSEL    OF    CAPTAIN    SOWLES.  219 

to  get  them.  Here  she  was  driven  off  in  a  storm  while  Mr. 
Hunt  was  on  shore,  and  did  not  reappear  for  several  days. 

It  was  the  middle  of  November  before  the  Beaver  was 
ready  to  leave  the  island  —  two  weeks  later  than  the  agreed 
time  when  Mr.  Hunt  was  to  be  back  at  Astoria.  Instead  of 
making  all  haste  to  return  he  permitted  himself  to  be  dis- 
suaded by  the  timid  counsel  of  Captain  Sowles,  whose  faults 
were  the  exact  opposite  of  those  of  Captain  Thorn  of  the 
Tonquin.  The  condition  of  the  ship  after  the  late  storm 
would  not  in  his  judgment  permit  an  attempt  to  enter  the 
Columbia  until  she  was  repaired,  and  he  therefore  urged, 
with  a  great  deal  of  persistency,  that  she  be  allowed  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  As  that  would  make  it  too 
late  to  return  to  Astoria  and  then  reach  Canton  in  time  for 
the  markets  there,  it  was  thought  that  Mr.  Hunt  could  wait 
at  the  Islands  for  the  next  annual  ship. 

It  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  overrule  a  captain  who  says  that 
his  ship  is  unseaworthy  and  must  be  repaired,  and  Mr. 
Hunt  was  not  the  man  to  take  that  kind  of  responsibility. 
So  away  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  went  the  Beaver,  where 
she  was  put  in  repair  and  then  sailed  for  Canton  January  i, 
18 1 3.  Arrived  at  Canton  Captain  Sowles  exhibited  the 
same  timid  policy  that  kept  him  away  from  Astoria.  He 
received  word  from  Mr.  Astor  announcing  the  existence  of 
war,  and  directing  him  to  proceed  at  once  to  Astoria.  He 
replied  that  he  would  await  in  Canton  the  arrival  of  peace 
and  then  return  home.  He  failed  to  dispose  of  the  furs, 
although  offered  prices  which,  if  invested  in  Canton  goods, 
would  have  netted  the  company  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars 
profit  in  New  York.  Compliance  with  Mr.  Astor's  orders 
and  the  exercise  of  common  business  sense  might  have  saved 
the  day  at  Astoria;  for  such  a  brilliant  financial  beginning 
to  the  maritime  part  of  the  enterprise  would  have  ensured 
ample  support  to  the  Astorians  as  soon  as  the  war  should 
cease. 

Mr.  Hunt  found  that  he  might  as  well  be  a  prisoner  in  the 
hands  of  an  enemy  as  where  he  now  was,  so  far  as  any  assist- 


220  HUNT    AT    THE    SANDWICH    ISLANDS. 

ance  he  could  render  to  the  company  was  concerned.  Month 
after  month  dragged  by  and  still  no  annual  ship.  Finally 
on  the  20th  of  June,  1813,  the  ship  Albatross  came  from 
China  bearing  the  jfirst  news  which  Hunt  had  received  of 
the  war.  He  now  concluded  that  this  was  why  the  ship 
had  not  come,  and  as  he  feared  that  the  Astorians  might  be 
running  short  of  supplies,  he  chartered  the  Albatross,  loaded 
her  with  what  he  could  get  in  the  Islands,  and  sailed  for  the 
Columbia.  He  arrived  at  Astoria  August  20th,  one  year 
and  sixteen  days  after  he  had  left. 

Great  was  his  astonishment  and  chagrin  when  he  learned 
what  had  happened,  but  he  found  that  he  was  too  late  to 
reverse  the  course  of  events,  particularly  as  he  himself  had 
nothing  to  show  for  his  own  work,  and  had  so  completely 
failed  to  keep  his  engagement.  He  was  compelled  to  acqui- 
esce in  the  proceedings  of  the  partners  and  it  now  became 
necessary  for  him  to  take  measures  to  close  up  Mr.  Astor's 
affairs.  In  order  to  ship  the  furs  collected,  and  return  the 
Sandwich  Islanders  to  their  home,  it  was  necessary  to  secure 
another  vessel,  the  Albatross  not  being  available.  Mr.  Hunt 
accordingly  left  Astoria  a  week  after  his  arrival.  The  Alba- 
tross was  bound  first  for  the  Marquesas  Islands  and  then  for 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  At  the  Marquesas  Hunt  first  learned 
of  the  near  approach  of  a  British  war  vessel  and  gave  up  all 
hope  of  even  saving  Mr.  Astor's  property.  On  his  arrival 
at  the  Sandwich  Islands  he  found  to  his  astonishment  that 
Mr.  Astor  had  sent  out  the  regular  annual  ship  and  that  she 
had  come  prosperously  on  her  way  until  near  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  where  she  was  wrecked  in  a  tempest.  The  hulk, 
with  the  captain  and  some  of  the  crew,  drifted  to  the  Islands, 
and  were  there  when  Mr.  Hunt  arrived.  The  latter  at  once 
purchased  a  brig  called  the  Pedlcr,  put  Captain  Northrup 
of  the  wrecked  ship,  Lark,  in  charge,  and  sailed  for  Astoria 
to  carry  out  the  orders  which  Mr.  Astor  had  sent  by  the  ship. 
These  were  to  remove  the  company's  property  as  speedily  as 
possible  to  the  Russian  settlements  to  avoid  capture,  and 


SALE    OF    ASTORIA.  221 

await  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  Mr.  Hunt  reached  Asto- 
ria February  28th,  1814. 

The  arrangement  between  Hunt  and  McDougal,  when 
Hunt  sailed  in  the  Albatross,  August  26th,  was  that  McDou- 
gal  should  have  power  to  transfer  to  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany, with  proper  security  for  arrears  of  wages,  the  services 
of  such  men  as  desired  to  remain.  The  property  belonging 
to  the  company  was  to  be  protected  until  Hunt  should  return 
for  it,  and  in  the  meanwhile  the  Islanders  were  to  be  collected 
and  such  employes  as  preferred  to  leave  were  to  be  ready. 
McDougal  was  given  power  to  take  such  measures  to  carry 
out  these  arrangements  as  might  be  found  necessary. 

It  was  on  the  7th  of  October  that  the  Northwest  Brigade 
arrived  at  Astoria  with  full  power  to  negotiate  for  the  pur- 
chase of  Astoria.  Clarke  was  with  them,  having  sold  the 
post  at  Spokane.  McKenzie,  who  had  set  out  for  the  inte- 
rior five  days  before,  to  carry  the  news  of  the  arrangements 
between  Hunt  and  McDougal,  was  also  with  them.  Nego- 
tiations for  the  transfer  of  Astoria  were  at  once  set  on  foot, 
and  so  far  as  the  record  goes,  were  not  limited  to  the  post 
and  appurtenances,  but  embraced  the  furs  and  property  which 
Mr.  Hunt  expected  to  take  away.  So  briskly  did  these 
negotiations  move  that  an  agreement  was  reached  on  the 
1 6th  of  October  and  was  signed,  according  to  Franchere,  on 
the  23rd.^ 

'  Ross  is  our  authority  for  the  statement  that  the  sale  was  not  actual- 
ly consummated  by  transfer  of  invoices  and  receipts  for  some  time 
afterward.  The  shrewd  Northwesters,  not  satisfied  with  having  driven 
their  rivals  out  of  the  country,  or  with  having  secured  at  a  fraction 
of  their  value  the  furs  and  other  property  of  the  company,  hoped 
to  improve  the  bargain  by  getting  the  property  for  nothing  at  all. 
A  British  ship  of  war  was  momentarily  expected  and  should  one  arrive 
before  the  transfer  was  actually  made,  the  post  and  all  its  property 
would  be  captured.  It  was  only  on  the  threat  of  a  resort  to  extreme 
measures  by  McKenzie  and  McDougal  that  McTavish  consummated  the 
bargain  on  the  12th  of  November. 

Irving  and  Franchere  make  no  note  of  such  a  proceeding  as  this  and 
the  probabilities  are  all  against  it,  for  in  case  of  capture  the  property 


222  THE    RACCOON    ARRIVES. 

The  whole  proceeding  was  viewed  with  shame  and  indig- 
nation by  the  American  contingent  and  by  a  number  of  the 
Canadians  as  well.  They  felt  that  there  was  no  real  neces- 
sity for  the  action  taken,  for,  with  the  transfer  of  the  post, 
the  property  which  belonged  in  so  large  part  to  British 
subjects  would  be  respected.  But  they  were  in  a  hopeless 
minority,  with  no  voice  in  the  councils  and  no  power  to 
stay  the  course  of  events. 

On  the  29th  of  October  a  large  party  set  out  for  the  inte- 
rior to  make  a  transfer  of  the  various  posts  and  of  the 
property  at  each.  Nothing  of  note  transpired  at  Astoria, 
except  the  arrival  on  November  23rd  of  Alexander  Stuart 
and  Alexander  Henry,^  until  the  30th  of  that  month,  when 
the  long  expected  war  vessel  hove  in  sight.  It  was  the 
Raccoon  of  twenty-six  guns,  commanded  by  Captain  Black. 
This  vessel  with  the  Isaac  Todd,  the  frigate  Phoebe,  and 
sloop  of  war  Cherub,  had  sailed  from  Rio  Janeiro  on  the 
6th  of  July  preceding  with  John  McDonald,  a  partner  of  the 
Northwest  Company,  on  board.  The  Isaac  Todd  had 
become  separated  from  her  company  off  Cape  Horn,  and 
had  not  since  been  seen.  The  other  vessels  arrived  safely 
at  the  agreed  rendezvous  at  the  island  of  Juan  Fernandez, 
and  after  waiting  some  time  for  the  Isaac  Todd,  and  hear- 
ing of  the  havoc  which  the  American  Commodore  Porter 
was  making  among  the  British  whalers,  it  was  decided  that 
the  Raccoon  should  go  on  alone  with  McDonald  to  Astoria, 
and  that  the  other  vessels  should  cruise  after  Porter.  The 
Raccoon  arrived  in  due  time  within  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia. 

The  officers  and  crew  of  the  Raccoon  had  been  led  to 
suppose  that  a  valuable  prize  awaited  them  at  the  end  of 

would  have  been  a  prize  of  war  and  the  Northwesters  would  not  have 
been  entitled  to  it.  It  was  certainly  to  their  advantage  to  secure  it 
before  any  such  eventuality.  That  they  made  use  of  the  war  ship  ar- 
gument to  drive  a  good  bargain  is  very  probable. 

^  Henry's  Journals,  recently  made  public  through  the  editorial  labors 
of  Dr.  Elliott  Coues,  have  furnished  valuable  new  light  upon  the  closing 
scenes  at  Astoria. 


ASTORIA    BECOMES    FORT    GEORGE.  22T, 

their  long  cruise.  When  they  found  that  the  post  and 
property  had  been  sold  to  British  subjects  they  were  greatly 
chagrined  and  disappointed.  Captain  Black,  it  is  said,  even 
threatened  to  bring  suit  for  their  recovery,  but  the  threat, 
if  made,  was  not  carried  out. 

If  Captain  Black  was  crestfallen  at  losing  a  valuable 
prize,  he  was  disgusted  when  he  beheld  the  character  of 
the  fort  which  he  had  been  sent  half  way  around  the  world 
to  capture.  He  exclaimed  with  ill-concealed  contempt : 
"  Is  this  the  fort  about  which  I  have  heard  so  much  talking  ? 
D — n  me,  but  I'd  batter  it  down  in  two  hours  with  a  four 
pounder! " 

Captain  Black,  with  a  retinue  of  officers,  landed  at  Asto- 
ria late  on  the  night  of  December  12th,  and  after  dinner  on 
the  13th  he  took  formal  possession  of  the  fort  in  the  name 
of  the  British  king,  and  rechristened  it  Fort  George.  The 
disappointed  captain,  could  he  have  foreseen  the  future, 
would  not  have  felt  ashamed  of  this  day  of  small  things. 
He  had  done  what  no  British  sailor  had  ever  done  before : 
in  taking  possession  of  this  fort  he  had  saved  an  empire  to 
his  country.* 

Thus  ended  the  eventful  career  of  Astoria.  It  now 
remains  only  to  see  how  the  various  individuals  connected 
with  the  enterprise  made  their  dispositions  for  the  immediate 
future.  A  large  number,  including  McDougal,  entered  the 
service  of  the  new  company.  Others  refused  offers  of  serv- 
ice and  among  them  Franchere,  who  had  never  ceased  to 
regard  the  downfall  of  Astoria  as  a  catastrophe  which  was 
wholly  unnecessary.'^ 

The  Raccoon  left  the  Columbia  on  the  last  day  of  the 
year  and  Mr.  Hunt  arrived  with  the  brig  Pedler  on  the  28th 
of  February,  1814.  He  was  indignant  at  the  conduct  of 
McDougal,  but  in  this  case,  as  before,  the  march  of  events 
during  his  absence  had   carried  the  business  beyond   his 

*  For  the  significance  of  this  statement  see  Chapter  XIII.,  this  Part. 
"  Franchere  did  take  temporary  service  while  waiting  an  opportunity 
to  return  home. 


224  FAREWELL    TO    ASTORIA. 

power  to  remedy  it.  He  now  found  that  he  had  no  property 
to  carry  away,  and  all  that  he  could  do  was  to  secure  the 
papers  of  the  late  company,  and,  with  such  of  the  Astorians 
as  desired  to  accompany  him,  to  bid  a  final  adieu  to  the 
coast  which  he  did  so  much  to  forfeit  to  his  country.  He 
left  the  Columbia  April  3rd,  1814. 

Messrs.  Alfred  Seton,  J.  C.  Halsey,  Bernard  Clapp,  and 
Russell  Farnham  sailed  on  the  Pedler,  which  was  taken  first 
to  Sitka  and  Kamchatka  to  close  up  some  business  there, 
and  thence  made  her  way  toward  home.  She  was  captured 
on  the  coast  of  California  and  held  for  upwards  of  two 
months.  Nothing  further  is  known  of  her  voyage  nor  how 
Mr.  Hunt  got  home.  Of  the  other  passengers  Halsey  was 
landed  at  Sitka  and  drops  out  of  sight.  Farnham  was 
landed  at  Kamchatka  and  sent  overland  with  dispatches  to 
Mr.  Astor.  He  made  the  astonishing  journey  across  Asia 
and  Europe  and  in  due  time  reached  New  York.  He  will 
again  appear  in  our  narrative  in  a  more  prosperous  connec- 
tion. Clapp  left  the  ship  at  the  Marquesas  Islands,  "  where 
he  entered  the  service  of  his  country  as  midshipman  under 
Commodore  Porter"  (Franchere).  Alfred  Seton  was  put 
off  at  San  Bias  on  the  California  coast  to  make  his  way 
home  by  land.  He  went  to  Darien,  where  he  was  detained 
several  months  by  sickness.  He  finally  reached  Carthagena, 
where,  in  great  destitution,  he  appealed  to  the  commander 
of  a  British  squadron  lying  there,  and  was  by  him  hospi- 
tably received.  After  a  time  he  was  landed  at  Jamaica, 
whence  he  made  his  way  to  New  York.  He  subsequently 
achieved  great  business  success  and  he  will  again  appear  in 
these  pages  as  the  capitalist  behind  Captain  Bonneville's 
enterprise. 

On  the  4th  of  April,  1814,  the  day  after  the  Pedler  left 
the  Columbia,  the  Northwest  Brigade  set  out  for  the  east, 
taking  along  such  of  the  Astorians  as  desired  to  return 
home  by  land.  Of  this  number  was  Gabriel  Franchere, 
who  reached  home  September  2nd. 

There  is  only  one  other  incident  connected  with  the  As- 


SAD    FATE    OF    JOHN    REED.  225 

torian  enterprise  which  may  detain  us.  When  the  North- 
west Brigade  was  nearing  the  Walla  Walla  on  the  17th  of 
April,  they  were  startled  by  a  child's  voice  crying  out  in 
French,  "  Arretez  done !  Arretez  done !"  A  canoe  party 
was  sent  to  shore  and  found  that  it  was  the  squaw  of  Pierre 
Dorion  and  her  two  children.  From  her  they  received 
a  tale  of  horror  which  was  a  fitting  finale  to  the  tragedy 
of  Astoria. 

On  the  5th  of  July,  181 3,  John  Reed  left  Astoria  with  the 
large  party  that  set  out  for  the  interior  that  day,  his  desti- 
nation being  the  country  of  the  Snake  river,  where  he  was 
to  trap  during  the  winter  and  collect  as  many  horses  as  possi- 
ble for  the  overland  expedition  of  the  following  spring. 
With  him  were  Giles  Leclerc,  Frangois  Landry,  Jean  Bap- 
tiste  Turcot,  Andre  La  Chapelle,  Pierre  Dorion  and  family, 
and  Pierre  Delauny.  Late  in  September  he  was  joined  by 
those  hardy  hunters,  Hoback,  Robinson,  and  Rezner,  who 
here  come  to  sight  for  the  last  time. 

Reed  finally  located  for  the  winter  on  what  is  now  Boise 
river,  Idaho,  long  known  to  fur  traders  as  Reed's  river. 
During  the  autumn  three  men  were  lost  from  one  cause  or 
another.  Delauny  left  the  party  and  was  never  again  heard 
from,  and  was  probably  killed  by  the  Indians.  Landry  fell 
from  his  horse  and  was  killed.  Turcot  died  of  King's  Evil. 
Late  in  the  year  Rezner,  Dorion,  and  Leclerc  went  about 
five  days'  march  from  Reed's  house,  where  they  put  up  a 
hut  and  commenced  a  prosperous  trapping  campaign.  One 
evening,  about  January  loth,  Leclerc  staggered  into  the 
house  desperately  wounded,  and  told  Dorion's  squaw  that 
her  husband  and  Rezner  were  killed.  She  at  once  caught 
two  horses,  put  Leclerc  on  one  of  them,  and  herself  and  two 
children  on  the  other  and  started  for  Reed's  house.  On  the 
third  day  Leclerc  died.  When  the  Indian  woman  reached 
Reed's  house  it  was  only  to  find  that  the  rest  of  the  party 
had  likewise  been  slain.  She  at  once  summoned  all  her 
energies  and  started  for  the  Columbia.     She  forded  the 


226  dorion's  widow  escapes. 

Snake  river  and  got  as  far  as  to  the  Blue  mountains,  but 
could  not  cross  at  that  season.  With  marvelous  resource 
she  maintained  herself  during  the  winter,  but  the  imminence 
of  starvation  at  length  compelled  her  to  move.  She  made 
her  way  with  great  suffering  to  Walla  Walla,  and  was  on 
her  way  down  the  Columbia  when  she  was  met  by  the 
Northwest  Brigade. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ASTORIA. 
REVIEW   OF   THE   ENTERPRISE. 

National  significance  of  the  Astorian  enterprise  —  Feasibility  of  gen- 
eral plan  —  Lack  of  overland  connection  —  Astor  and  the  St.  Louis 
traders  —  Large  proportion  of  British  subjects  —  Unfortunate  choice 
of  partners  —  Criticism  of  Hunt  —  Criticism  of  McKenzie  —  Criticism 
of  McDougal  —  No  necessity  for  abandoning  Astoria  —  Responsibility 
of  the  United  States  —  Northwest  Company  exonerated. 

'^^HE  world  never  ceases  to  linger  over  those  decisive 
^^  events  in  its  history  which  have  deflected  the  current 
of  human  affairs  and  have  influenced  for  better  or  worse  the 
welfare  of  mankind.  It  matters  not  that  their  issues  are  set- 
tled forever;  none  the  less  do  men  love  to  speculate  upon 
their  causes  and  results  and  to  enquire  what  would  have 
ensued  had  their  outcome  been  other  than  it  was.  Among- 
these  decisive  events,  though  in  itself  of  little  moment,  and 
scarcely  noticed  among  the  great  transactions  of  that  impor- 
tant period,   must  be  placed  the  enterprise  of  Mr.  Astor 


upon  the  Pacific  coast.  It  is  no  flight  of  fancy,  but  rather 
a  sober  and  legitimate  conclusion,  to  say  that  if  the  Asto- 
rian enterprise  had  succeeded  the  course  of  empire  on  the 
American  continent  would  have  been  altogether  different 
than  it  has  been.  With  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  and  the 
neighboring  shores  of  the  Pacific  occupied  by  American  citi- 
zens instead  of  British  subjects  during  the  period  of  contro- 
versy over  the  Oregon  Question,  no  part  of  the  Pacific 
coast  line  would  now  belong  to  Great  Britain. 

That  such  has  not  been  the  case  is  less  a  matter  of  regret 
than  it  would  have  been  had  a  different  civilization  found 


228  FEASIBILITY    OF    PROJECT. 

its  abode  there.  It  is  at  least  a  satisfaction  to  see  in  that 
country  a  people  of  our  own  race  and  language,  no  less 
earnest  than  we  in  carrying  forward  the  cause  of  constitu- 
tional government  and  commercial  development  into  regions 
of  unknown  extent  and  unmeasured  possibilities.  Never- 
theless Americans  will  never  cease  to  regret  the  outcome  of 
this  affair,  nor  to  feel  that  it  was  not  what  it  should  have 
been;  and  they  will  always  welcome  any  new  light  which 
may  exhibit  more  clearly  the  causes  of  its  failure,  and 
determine  more  surely  where  the  responsibility  for  it  ought 
to  rest. 

In  reviewing  the  enterprise  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company 
after  the  lapse  of  nearly  a  century,  the  general  plan  upon 
which  it  was  based  stands  above  criticism.  It  was  a  pro- 
ject no  less  feasible  than  magnificent.  Although  its  course 
was  one  of  almost  uniform  disaster,  its  very  failures  showed 
that  under  normal  conditions  its  success  v^ould  have  excelled 
the  anticipations  of  its  great  promoter.  He  had  proposed 
well,  but  God  and  man,  with  tempest  and  war,  had  disposed 
in  a  way  which  he  could  scarcely  have  imagined  possible. 

In  the  execution  of  the  project  Mr.  Astor  committed 
certain  errors  both  in  the  plan  of  his  expeditions  and  the 
personnel  of  his  company.  It  is  evident  that  he  should 
have  laid  more  stress  upon  his  overland  connection  with 
St.  Louis,  particularly  in  view  of  the  danger  of  war.  It 
would  seem  to  have  been  only  a  measure  of  common  pru- 
dence to  have  established  a  secure  line  of  operations  which 
the  navy  of  Great  Britain  could  not  touch.  Had  he  known 
as  we  do  that  he  could  easily  have  gone  from  St.  Louis  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  with  merchandise  in  three  months, 
his  neglect  of  this  route  would  indeed  have  been  culpable. 
To  be  sure  Crooks  and  Stuart  brought  back  favorable 
reports  of  the  possibility  of  this  route,  but  it  was  evidently 
not  then  believed  to  be  as  practicable  as  it  really  was.  Its 
importance  was  not,  however,  entirely  overlooked  by  Air. 
Astor,  who  at  one  time  contemplated  sending  another  expe- 
dition overland,  but  for  some  reason  never  did  it. 


ATTITUDE    OF    ST.    LOUIS    TRADERS.  229 

It  may  be  wondered  why  Mr.  Aster  did  not  try  to  interest 
St.  Louis  traders  in  his  schemes,  and  it  is  impossible  not  to 
feel  that  he  would  have  been  better  off  with  Ashley,  Henry, 
or  Manuel  Lisa  in  charge  of  his  affairs  than  with  McDou- 
gal,  McKenzie,  or  even  Hunt.  The  truth  is  that  most  of  the 
St.  Louis  traders  were  afraid  of  the  proposed  connection. 
They  wanted  a  Missouri  Fur  Company,  with  the  trade  all  to 
themselves,  and,  with  a  narrow  provincialism  which  does 
them  little  credit,  they  refused  a  share  in  their  trade  to  Mr. 
Astor,  but  kept  on  for  twenty  years  in  a  sickly  and  failing 
business,  only  to  fall  at  last  into  the  very  hands  which 
might  have  saved  them  from  their  early  disasters.^ 

The  second  point  in  which  it  is  manifest  that  Mr.  Astor 
acted  contrary  to  sound  judgment,  even  with  only  the  light 
that  he  then  had,  was  in  choosing  the  personnel  of  his  com- 
pany. Xt  is  easy  to  understand  why  he  turned  his  eye  to  the 
north  to  find  suitable  men.  At  Montreal,  or  in  the  service 
of  its  great  fur  company,  was  to  be  found  the  highest  expe- 
rience which  the  fur  trade  afforded.  If  union  with  that 
company  could  not  be  effected,  and  it  could  not,  it  might  at 
least  be  possible  to  secure  some  of  its  servants  to  carry  on 
an  independent  enterprise.  Some  of  them  in  fact  had  not 
been  satisfied  with  recent  treatment  by  their  company,  and 
were  ready  to  join  any  opposition.  Mr.  Astor,  who  had 
often  visited  Montreal,  had  conceived  a  high  opinion  of  the 
talent  and  business  methods  of  the  Northwest  traders,  and 
even  of  the  rank  and  file  in  the  company's  service.  He  is 
said  by  Ross  to  have  remarked  on  the  occasion  of  a  display 
of  skill  in  handling  a  canoe  by  two  Canadian  boatmen,  that 
six  Americans  could  not  have  done  so  well.  Very  different 
was  the  estimate  of  relative  worth  which  obtained  in  the 
Far  West.    There  one  American  hunter  was  rated  as  equal 

*  That  such  is  the  true  explanation  of  Mr.  Astor's  failure  to  establish 
himself  at  St.  Louis  may  readily  be  seen  from  the  letters  of  Charles 
Gratiot,  who  long  tried  to  get  him  to  establish  a  house  in  St.  Louis, 
and  tried  to  persuade  the  Missouri  Fur  Company  to  give  him  a  share  in 
their  business. 


230  BRITISH    SUBJECTS   IN    THE    MAJORITY. 

to  three  Creole  voyageurs.  It  is  apparent  that  Mr.  Astor  as 
yet  imperfectly  appreciated  the  worth  of  the  American  tra- 
der and  trapper,  and  could  not  bring  himself  to  consider 
either  as  an  adequate  substitute  for  "  un  homme  du  Nord." 
Therefore  he  was  led  to  organize  his  parties  largely  on  the 
northern  frontier  instead  of  at  St.  Louis,  and  to  compose 
them  mainly  of  British  subjects. 

Had  peace  continued  all  would  have  been  well.  But  it 
was  a  decisive  error  to  man  his  expeditions  and  compose 
his  company  from  the  subjects  of  a  nation  with  which  the 
United  States  was  then  believed  to  be  on  the  verge  of  war. 
Of  the  thirty-three  company  men  who  sailed  on  the  Tonquin, 
the  four  partners  were  all  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  as  were 
eight  of  the  eleven  clerks,  and  fifteen  of  the  eighteen  subor- 
dinate employes  whose  names  are  given  by  Franchere.  Of 
those  who  went  with  the  overland  expedition,  omitting 
Crooks,  McLellan,  and  Miller  who  immediately  returned, 
one  partner,  Hunt,  was  an  American,  and  one,  McKenzie, 
a  resident  of  Canada;  the  clerk.  Reed,  was  an  Irishman, 
although  probably  an  American  citizen,  while  the  rank  and 
file  who  reached  Astoria  were  by  a  great  majority  Cana- 
dians. The  Beaver  brought  one  partner,  Clarke,  an  Amer- 
ican, although  he  had  long  been  affiliated  with  the  North- 
west Company,  and  six  clerks,  of  whom  only  one  appears  to 
have  been  a  foreigner,  but  two  of  whom  must  have  left  Asto- 
ria at  an  early  day,  as  there  is  not  the  slightest  mention  of 
their  presence  there.  When  the  fate  of  Astoria  hung  in  the 
balance,  and  was  decided  by  the  vote  of  the  four  partners 
present,  three  of  them,  McDougal,  McKenzie,  and  Stuart, 
were  British  subjects,  and  McDougal  held  Mr.  Astor's  proxy 
which  gave  him  the  determining  vote.  Of  the  clerks  then 
on  the  Columbia,  the  Canadians  outnumbered  the  Americans 
by  two  to  one ;  while  of  the  subordinate  employes  the  dis- 
proportion was  even  greater. 

It  is  obvious  enough  that  in  the  event  of  war  with  Great 
Britain  the  same  loyal  support  to  an  American  company 
as  against  a  British  company  could  not  be  expected  from 


AMERICANS    NOT    ON    GUARD,  23 1 

British  subjects  as  from  American  citizens.  It  is  no  reflec- 
tion upon  the  Canadian  Astorians  to  say  this,  for  simple 
patriotism  could  mean  no  less.  War  was  foreseen  at  the 
time  that  Mr.  Astor  selected  his  associates.  Two  of  them, 
it  was  afterwards  learned,  so  clearly  foresaw  its  approach 
that  they  called  upon  the  British  minister  at  New  York  to 
learn  what  their  position  would  be  in  case  that  eventuality 
should  actually  ensue.  Mr.  Astor  could  not  have  been  blind 
to  the  course  of  events,  and  common  prudence  should  have 
led  him  to  trust  his  enterprise  only  to  the  hands  of  his  fel- 
low citizens,  or  at  least  to  have  made  it  impossible  for  for- 
eigners to  have  a  majority  vote  in  the  councils  of  his  far 
distant  establishment.  Fortunate  for  him  would  it  have 
been  if,  in  the  trying  hour  of  his  cherished  enterprise,  he 
could  have  repeated  the  command  which  tradition  ascribes  to 
Washington  — "  Put  none  but  Americans  on  guard  to- 
night." With  Americans  on  guard  the  pusillanimous  action 
of  McDougal  and  McKenzie  in  the  winter  of  1 812-13  would 
not  have  taken  place.  With  Americans  on  guard  the 
various  parties  of  Northwesters  would  not  have  been 
received  as  brothers,  but  as  competing  traders,  and  treated 
with  the  scant  business  indulgence  which  that  shrewd  com- 
pany knew  so  well  how  to  dispense  to  its  opponents.  With 
Americans  on  guard  the  post  at  Spokane  would  not  have 
been  sold  when  there  was  no  necessity  for  it;  the  manifesto 
of  July  13,  1813,  would  never  have  been  signed;  John 
George  McTavish  would  not  have  been  permitted  to  linger 
with  his  retainers  under  the  guns  of  Astoria  waiting  for  a 
British  ship  of  war ;  and  the  shameful  bargain  of  McDougal 
with  McTavish  and  Stuart  of  October  16,  181 3,  would  not 
have  been  concluded.  The  fact  that  Americans  were  not 
on  guard  is  the  one  severe  indictment  against  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Astorian  enterprise  which  will  be  sustained  at 
the  bar  of  history. 

Even  leaving  out  considerations  of  nationality,  Mr. 
Astor's  choice  of  partners  was  not  a  happy  one.  McDou- 
gal, McKenzie,  and  Hunt  did  not  prove  good  men  in  their 


232  HUNT    AND    M  KENZIE. 

respective  places.  Captains  Thorn  and  Sowles  were  unfor- 
tunate selections  as  ship  masters.  But  such  is  the  experi- 
ence of  every  new  undertaking.  It  takes  time  to  learn  men 
and  to  settle  them  in  their  proper  places.  A  few  years'  serv- 
ice would  have  corrected  these  errors  and  have  adjusted  each 
part  of  the  intricate  machine  to  its  proper  work.  Unfortu- 
nately this  time  was  not  to  be  had. 

Of  Mr.  Hunt's  share  in  the  enterprise  not  much  can  be 
said  in  commendation  except  that  he  was  loyal  and  single- 
hearted  to  Mr.  Astor  throughout.  He  was  not  the  man  for 
the  place.  His  conduct  of  the  overland  expedition  was  not 
efficient  and  he  should  have  been  in  Astoria  in  midsummer 
of  181 1  instead  of  mid)vinter  of  1811-12.  Permitting 
himself  to  be  sent  on  the  maritime  expedition  was  a  fatal 
error,  for  it  took  away  from  the  establishment  the  only 
partner  whose  sympathies  were  unquestionably  on  the  side 
of  the  company.  He  not  only  allowed  himself  to  be  sent 
away,  but  he  afterward  deliberately  kept  himself  away  for 
more  than  a  year,  by  which  time  the  fate  of  Astoria  was 
sealed. 

McKenzie,  Hunt's  overland  associate,  was  an  able,  but 
unscrupulous  man,  who  could  be  a  powerful  enemy  or  ally, 
according  to  his  mood.  Unluckily  he  had  from  the  start 
been  soured  on  the  enterprise  on  account  of  what  he  thought 
an  unjust  precedence  given  by  Mr.  Astor  to  Hunt.  He 
never  had  any  heart  in  his  work.  His  establishment  was 
the  only  one  that  failed,  and  he  was  the  first  one  to  lose 
faith  in  the  undertaking. 

Of  Duncan  McDougal,  who  held  the  reins  of  authority 
at  Astoria  during  Mr.  Hunt's  absence,  the  common  verdict 
is  that  he  was  not  only  unfit  for  the  place  but  disloyal  to  his 
duty.  Even  his  apologist,  Ross,  admits  his  unfitness  and 
characterizes  him  as  "  a  man  of  but  ordinary  capacity,  with 
an  irritable,  peevish  temper ;  the  most  unfit  man  in  the  world 
to  head  an  expedition  or  command  men."  Inasmuch  as  the 
suspicion  of  disloyalty  to  the  company  has  always  attached 
to  his  conduct  at  Astoria,  although  he  strenuously  main- 


DUNCAN    M  DOUGAL.  233 

tained  his  innocence,  it  will  be  worth  while  to  examine  the 
evidence  for  and  against. 

From  the  first  McDougal  treated  the  parties  of  the  North- 
west Fur  Company  with  a  degree  of  hospitality  wholly 
uncalled  for  and  wholly  contrary  to  the  teachings  of  the 
school  in  which  he  had  been  brought  up.  Instead  of  allow- 
ing them  only  the  scant  courtesy  which  common  hospitality 
requires,  and  giving  them  plainly  to  understand  that  their 
presence  could  not  be  tolerated,  he  treated  them  more  like 
associates,  distributing  favors  with  a  lavish  hand,  selling 
them  provisions,  and  permitting  them  to  spy  out  whatever 
was  going  on  or  in  contemplation.  This  course  was  noted 
with  disapproval  by  the  other  partners  and  members  of  the 
establishment.  Ross  says  of  the  visit  of  Thompson,  in  July, 
181 1  :  "McDougal  received  him  like  a  brother;  nothing 
was  too  good  for  Mr.  Thompson;  he  had  access  every- 
where ;  saw  and  examined  everything,  and  whatever  he 
asked  for  he  got  as  if  he  had  been  one  of  ourselves."  Small 
wonder  that  the  people  of  Astoria  regarded  Thompson  as 
"  little  better  than  a  spy  in  camp."  Franchere  says  that  it 
was  the  general  opinion  at  the  time  that  he  was  there  solely 
to  anticipate  Astor  in  establishing  a  trading  post  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia,  but  had  been  prevented  by  untoward 
circumstances  from  doing  it. 

The  action  of  McDougal  and  McKenzie  in  the  winter  of 
1812-13,  immediately  after  McKenzie  had  returned  from 
the  interior  with  news  of  the  war,  was  wholly  without  excuse 
or  justification.  The  resolution  of  these  two  partners  to 
abandon  the  establishment  and  quit  the  country  was  certainly 
a  most  extraordinary  proceeding.  McDougal,  by  virtue  of 
Astor' s  proxy,  possibly  had  the  technical  right  to  take  such 
action,  but  it  was  never  intended  by  Mr.  Astor,  and  was 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  Articles  of  Association.  The 
Association  could  be  dissolved  within  five  years  if  found 
unprofitable ;  but  there  was  as  yet  no  evidence  that  it  would 
be  unprofitable,  and  subsequent  events  have  proved  that  it 
would  have  been  quite  the  reverse.     McDougal's  action  was 


234  OPINION   OF   FRANCHERE. 

clearly  ultra  vires,  and  can  only  be  explained  on  the  ground 
of  cowardice  or  disloyalty  to  the  enterprise. 

When  McTavish  came  down  to  wait  for  the  Isaac  Todd, 
as  he  said,  in  the  spring  of  1813,  McDougal  permitted  him 
to  hang  around  Astoria  for  over  three  months,  when  it  was 
within  his  power  to  have  driven  him  out  of  the  country,  even 
without  a  resort  to  force. 

Finally  at  the  time  of  signing  the  manifesto  stating  the 
reason  for  abandoning  the  establishment,  and  during  the 
subsequent  period  of  negotiations  for  the  purchase  of  Asto- 
ria, McDougal's  treatment  of  his  competitors  was  such  as  to 
cause  general  comment  and  to  excite  the  shame  and  indigna- 
tion of  the  Americans  who  were  present.  Add  to  this  that 
he  entered  the  service  of  the  Northwest  Company  soon  after 
the  transfer,  still  acting  as  agent  and  holding  the  papers  of 
the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  and  permitting  their  contents  to  be 
known  to  the  Northwest  people,  and  the  burden  of  proof  is 
very  heavy  against  him  that  he  acted,  in  the  words  of  Irving, 
"  if  not  a  perfidious,  certainly  a  craven  part." 

Franchere,  who  gave  the  first  account  of  these  proceed- 
ings to  the  world,  who  wrote  in  Montreal  and  In  French,  and 
therefore  not  at  all  to  catch  the  eye  of  the  American  public ; 
and,  moreover,  who  bears  a  reputation  untarnished  by  any 
suspicions  of  disloyalty  to  Mr.  Astor,  takes  positive  ground 
against  McDougal.  "  Those  at  the  head  of  affairs,"  he 
wrote,  "  had  their  own  fortunes  to  seek,  and  thought  it  more 
for  their  interest,  doubtless,  to  act  as  they  did ;  but  that  will 
not  clear  them  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  and  the  charge  of 
treason  to  Mr.  Astor's  interests  will  always  be  attached  to 
their  characters."  And  again,  "  McDougal,  as  a  reward 
for  betraying  the  trust  reposed  in  him  by  Mr.  Astor,  was 
made  a  partner  in  the  Northwest  Fur  Company." 

In  all  these  matters  may  be  seen  the  fruition  of  that  course 
which  McDougal  initiated  while  still  in  New  York  by  calling 
on  the  British  minister  there  and  divulging  to  him  the  plans 
of  Mr.  Astor.  Even  while  yet  in  the  presence  of  the  patron 
of  the  great  enterprise  he  was  secretly  taking  steps,  whether 


DOWNFALL    OF    ASTORIA    UNNECESSARY.  235 

intentionally  or  not,  which  could  but  be  inimical  to  his  best 
interest.  Information  has  recently  come  to  light  in  the 
journal  of  Alexander  Henry  which  confirms  the  prima  facie 
evidence  of  disloyalty  to  Astor,  involved  in  McDougal's 
acceptance  of  a  connection  with  the  Northwest  Company. 
McDougal  was  no  favorite  with  that  company,  and  the  rela- 
tions of  the  other  partners  to  him,  as  shown  in  Alexander 
Henry's  journal,  were  so  strained  that  they  negotiated  only 
by  letter.  As  with  all  traitors,  those  whom  he  had  served 
by  his  treachery  distrusted  him.  They  clearly  had  no  use 
for  him;  but  nevertheless  on  the  23rd  of  December  they 
made  formal  propositions  to  him  which  were  accepted  on  the 
25th,  giving  him  a  share  in  the  company.  It  is  hardly  prob- 
able that  they  would  have  done  this  for  one  whom  they  so 
thoroughly  disliked  except  in  fulfillment  of  a  promise  made 
upon  condition  of  his  facilitating  the  sale  of  Astoria. 

Of  the  other  partners,  and  of  the  clerks,  except  possibly 
Ross  and  Cox,  there  is  no  doubt  of  their  loyalty  to  the  under- 
taking, nor  of  their  readiness  to  stand  by  it  under  all  diffi- 
culties. McDougal  principally,  and  with  him  McKenzie, 
are  the  men  responsible  for  the  downfall  of  Astoria.  Con- 
cerning this  downfall  itself  it  was  as  unnecessary  as  any 
human  proceeding  ever  was.  The  facts  upon  which  the 
necessity  of  abandonment  was  alleged  in  the  manifesto  of 
July  13,  181 3,  stand  to  this  day  unproved.  In  the  fruits  of 
the  previous  winter's  trade,  the  first  essay  on  the  Columbia, 
which  had  all  arrived  at  Astoria  before  the  middle  of  June, 
was  a  conclusive  refutation  of  the  allegation  of  unprofitable- 
ness, and  it  was  only  on  the  ground  of  unprofitableness  that 
the  enterprise  could  be  abandoned.  Mr.  Hunt  had  not  yet 
returned  as  agreed,  it  is  true,  and  the  resident  partners 
knew  nothing  of  the  brilliant  outlook  in  that  direction; 
but  it  was  their  duty  to  await. 

The  only  other  justification  of  their  action  would  have 
been  that  they  could  not  maintain  themselves  either  from 
the  danger  of  starvation  or  of  capture  by  the  British. 
Neither  of  these  dangers  was  imminent  if  common  sense 


236  NO    DANGER    OF    CAPTURE. 

precautions  were  taken.  The  Astorians  were  never  seri- 
ously reduced  in  supplies,  and  had  now  learned  the  country 
so  well  that  they  could  easily  have  made  themselves  self- 
supporting.  They  had,  moreover,  reason  to  expect  an  early 
addition  to  their  stores  from  the  annual  ship  or  from  Mr. 
Hunt. 

As  to  capture  by  a  British  war  vessel,  it  was  a  matter 
always  within  their  power  to  save  everything  except  the 
buildings,  which  could  be  replaced  at  slight  expense.  A 
small  establishment  could  have  been  built  farther  back, 
where  a  ship's  force  could  not  have  followed,  and  here  the 
valuable  property  could  have  been  stored  pending  develop- 
ments. The  main  house  at  Astoria  could  have  been  kept 
open  in  the  meanwhile  and  if  a  man-of-war  had  actually 
come  in  sight,  it  could  have  been  hastily  abandoned.  The 
war  vessel  would  then  have  found  only  the  empty  buildings 
and  at  most  could  only  have  destroyed  these.  The  crew 
would  not  have  dared  to  undertake  an  expedition  into  the 
interior  among  natives  warmly  attached  to  the  Astorians, 
and  would  have  been  compelled  to  withdraw  without  having 
accomplished  anything.  That  this  was  the  opinion  of  those 
at  the  time  who  remained  loyal  to  the  enterprise  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  remarks  of  Franchere :  "  From  the 
account  given  in  this  chapter  the  reader  will  see  with  what 
facility  the  establishment  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  could 
have  escaped  capture  by  a  British  force.  It  was  only  nec- 
essary to  get  rid  of  the  land  party  of  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany, who  were  completely  in  our  power,  then  remove  our 
effects  up  the  river  upon  some  small  stream  and  await  the 
result.  The  sloop-of-war  arrived,  it  is  true;  but,  as  in  the 
case  I  have  supposed,  she  would  have  found  nothing,  she 
would  have  left  after  setting  fire  to  our  deserted  houses. 
None  of  their  boats  would  have  dared  follow  us,  even  if 
the  Indians  had  betrayed  to  them  our  lurking  place."  If 
there  were  any  doubt  on  this  point  it  is  dispelled  by  the  fact 
that  this  very  course  was  in  contemplation  by  the  Northwest 
Company  after  the  transfer,  when,  on  one  occasion,  it  was 


PRECARIOUS    SITUATION    OF    THE    NORTHWESTERS.     237 

doubtful  whether  an  approaching  sail  were  friend  or  foe. 
It  is  true  that  Alexander  Henry,  in  his  journal,  speaking  of 
his  forlorn  state  after  the  Northwest  Brigade  had  departed 
in  April,  1814,  and  had  left  him  in  charge  at  Fort  George, 
says  that  in  the  event  of  the  arrival  of  an  American  vessel, 
retreat  was  impossible  to  him.  But  he  had  no  force  with 
him  adequate  to  the  task,  and  the  Indians  around  him  were 
hostile.  His  remarks  refer  only  to  the  weakened  condition 
of  the  fort  at  that  time. 

In  short,  at  no  time  during  the  career  of  Astoria  wai 
there  danger  of  her  capture  either  by  the  British  war  vessel 
or  by  the  Northwesters.  The  Astorians  were  always 
stronger  and  better  supplied  than  their  rivals.  It  was  in 
their  power  to  communicate  with  St.  Louis  by  a  route 
shorter  and  less  dangerous  than  that  of  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany to  Fort  William.  It  was  already  known  to  them  that 
Crooks  and  Robert  Stuart  had  made  their  way  back  in  per- 
fect safety  over  all  that  part  of  the  journey  which  had  given 
Hunt  so  much  trouble.  Henry's  journals  make  known  to 
us  now,  if  it  were  not  patent  at  the  time,  how  precarious  the 
situation  of  the  Northwest  Company  really  was,  and  how 
great  was  the  danger  that  the  course  of  events,  in  his  own 
words,  "would  end  in  the  failure  of  our  business  here." 
All  that  Astoria  ever  needed  to  carry  her  through  the  storm 
was  a  leader  determined  not  to  yield  so  long  as  there  was  a 
chance  to  hold  out. 

Concerning  the  unfortunate  events  at  sea,  such  as  the  loss 
of  the  Tonqiiin  and  the  Lark,  and  the  conduct  of  Captain 
Sowles,  bad  as  they  were,  they  were  not  by  any  means  irrep- 
arable blows  to  Astoria,  for  Mr.  Astor  had  covenanted  to 
bear  all  losses  himself  for  the  first  five  years.  The  most 
harmful  feature  of  the  maritime  business  was  Mr.  Hunt's 
enforced  absence  until  affairs  at  the  Columbia  had  gotten 
beyond  recall. 

A  large  share  of  the  responsibility  for  the  loss  of  Astoria 
must  fall  upon  the  government  of  the  United  States.  It  had 
warmly  approved  of  Mr.   Astor's  plans,   and  although  it 


238   RESPONSIBILITY    OF    UNITED    STATES    GOVERNMENT. 

could  grant  him  no  direct  assistance  in  time  of  peace,  it 
could  and  ought  to  have  lent  him  the  small  aid  necessary  to 
protect  his  establishment  from  a  public  enemy.  It  could 
not  have  been  insensible  to  the  importance  of  the  infant 
colony  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  But  when  the  hour 
of  danger  came  it  lent  not  the  slightest  aid.  To  be  sure  it 
had  its  hands  full  at  the  time,  but  the  small  assistance  which 
was  required  and  which  Mr.  Astor  besought  the  government 
to  send,  would  have  been  a  trivial  burden.  It  would  at  least 
have  been  possible  to  have  sent  a  company  of  soldiers  along 
the  track  of  Crooks  and  Stuart,  and  they  would  have  held 
the  Columbia  against  any  attack  to  be  feared  in  that  quarter. 

But  alas!  there  was  not  a  could-have-been  in  the  whole 
transaction  that  did  not  turn  out  adversely,  and  wherever 
the  element  of  chance  entered  in  it  ran  uniformly  one  way. 
The  great  purpose  of  the  enterprise,  the  skill  with  which  it 
was  planned,  the  far-reaching  relation  which  it  bore  to  the 
future  of  the  United  States,  and  the  loss  of  life  and  property 
in  the  attempt  to  carry  it  out,  were  worthy  of  a  better  fate.^ 

In  all  this  affair  it  is  a  satisfaction  to  exonerate  the  North- 
west Company  from  any  dishonorable  conduct.  They  had 
a  purpose  to  accomplish — that  of  driving  the  Americans  off 
the  Columbia.  They  executed  this  purpose  with  their 
characteristic  energy  and  skill.  They  did  not  scruple  to 
apply  the  code  of  the  fur  trade  in  all  its  severity  against  their 
rivals,  but  they  were  within  their  rights.  They  can  not 
justly  be  charged  with  doing  any  more  than  they  were  enti- 
tled to  do  in  the  circumstances ;  but  that  only  makes  our 
shame  the  greater  that  there  was  no  one  on  the  other  side 
possessed  of  the  same  dogged  determination  to  maintain 
their  rights. 

*  The  total  number  of  persons  lost  in  the  company's  service  was  not 
less  than  sixty-five.  For  a  muster  of  the  Astorians,  and  biographical 
sketches  of  the  leading  characters,  see  Appendix  C. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
ASTORIA. 

ITS  AUTHOR  AND    THE    "  SOURCES    OF    HIS    INSPIRATION." 

Astoria  fortunate  in  her  historian  —  Irving's  accuracy  impugned  — 
Irving's  interest  in  the  fur  trade  —  Alleged  subservience  to  Mr.  Astor  — 
Irving  charged  with  plagiarism  —  Irving's  Captain  Bonneville  —  Fran- 
chere's   criticism   of   Astoria  —  Bancroft's   treatment   of   Irving. 

93  STORIA  was  as  happy  in  finding  an  historian  as  she 
^^  was  unfortunate  in  working  out  her  history.  Irv- 
ing's treatment  of  this  subject  has  become  classic.  It  has 
served  a  two- fold  purpose  —  that  of  fixing  in  imperishable 
characters  the  history  of  a  great  enterprise,  and  that  of  pre- 
serving to  posterity  the  most  real  and  graphic  picture  now  in 
existence  of  a  phase  of  life  which  has  entirely  passed  away. 
It  is  not  the  purpose  here  to  offer  anything  in  the  way  of 
criticism  of  this  great  work,  but  simply  to  notice  one  or  two 
popular  but  erroneous  notions  concerning  it. 

The  fashion  among  later  writers  upon  western  history  has 
been  to  rate  Astoria  as  a  work  whose  classic  standing  in 
literature  is  due  to  the  brilliancy  of  its  author's  style.  If 
not  directly,  still  constantly  by  innuendo,  Mr.  Irving's  fidel- 
ity as  an  historian  is  impugned,  and  he  is  charged  with 
having  embellished  his  work  at  the  expense  of  its  accuracy. 
He  has  been  accused  by  one  writer  of  permitting  his  friend- 
ship for  Mr.  Astor  to  bias  his  judgment  of  men  and  events. 
Finally  he  has  been  charged,  if  not  with  plagiarism  direct,  at 
least  with  lavish  use  of  the  writings  of  others  without  due 
acknowledgment.  It  is  these  three  matters  that  will  here 
be  given  brief  consideration. 

Great  in  his  calling  is  the  architect  or  engineer  who  can 


240  IRVING  S    ACCURACY. 

design  a  work  like  the  Brooklyn  Bridge,  in  which  every 
part  is  so  related  to  every  other  that  there  is  nothing  useless 
or  superfluous  in  its  construction  and  that  the  highest  result 
of  which  the  material  is  capable  is  realized.  But  far  greater 
is  he  who  can  do  not  only  this,  but  can  add  the  touches  of 
artistic  genius  by  covering  up  the  cold  and  severe  outlines 
with  the  adornments  of  painting  and  sculpture,  until  the 
result,  like  St.  Peter's  of  Rome,  is  a  living  picture  of  beauty. 
The  work  has  lost  nothing  of  its  architectural  form  and  pro- 
portions, and  beneath  the  superficial  beauty  are  still  the  same 
perfect  adaptations  of  the  parts  to  their  various  uses ;  but  the 
whole  effect  is  many  fold  more  important,  because  it  appeals 
to  the  hearts  as  well  as  to  the  judgments  of  men.  And  yet 
it  is  a  prevalent  notion  that  these  two  important  qualities 
rarely  coexist,  and  that  excellence  in  either  is  ordinarily 
obtained  at  the  expense  of  the  other. 

In  making  a  somewhat  exhaustive  study  of  the  authorities 
relating  to  the  Astorian  enterprise  it  was  expected  at  the  out- 
set to  find  this  popular  idea  of  Irving's  Astoria  the  cor- 
rect one,  and  that  when  it  came  to  removing  the  lustre  of  art 
there  would  be  found  a  rather  shaky  framework  in  which 
would  be  many  a  defective  member.  The  result  has  been 
exactly  the  reverse,  and  it  has  been  a  matter  of  growing 
astonishment  throughout  these  studies  to  find  with  what 
detail  the  illustrious  author  had  worked  out  his  theme,  and 
with  what  judicial  fairness  he  had  passed  judgment  upon 
actors  and  events.  Not  in  the  allurements  of  style  alone, 
but  in  the  essential  respects  of  accuracy  and  comprehensive 
treatment,  Irving's  work  stands  immeasurably  above  all 
others  upon  the  subject. 

In  that  always  troublesome  matter  of  dates,  for  example, 
Irving  has  fewer  errors  than  any  other  of  the  Astorian 
authors.  Most  of  those  in  Astoria  are  evidently  slips, 
and  are  self-corrective  from  the  context.^ 

*  To  the  casual  reader  Irving  may  seem  to  skip  over  his  chronology 
rather  carelessly,  by  his  "  next  mornings,"  "  following  days,"  etc. 
But  whoever  will  take  pains  to  fit  in  the  proper  dates  will  find  that  the 


ROUTES    OF    THE    ASTORIANS.  24I 

A  matter  in  which  we  have  taken  great  interest  is  the 
recovery  of  the  routes  of  the  overland  Astorians.  At  the 
time  of  these  journeys  there  was  ahnost  no  geographical 
knowledge  of  the  country  traversed  between  the  Missouri 
and  the  Columbia  —  not  even  names  in  most  instances  to 
describe  natural  features  by.  Even  when  Irving  wrote 
there  were  only  the  crudest  maps  and  very  little  in  the  way 
of  geographical  information  yet  collected.  It  would  seem, 
in  this  situation,  that  any  attempt  to  work  out  routes  from 
the  meagre  data  derived  from  journals  of  the  expedition 
must  be  in  a  large  degree  a  failure,  and  from  no  fault  of  the 
author.  Yet  in  spite  of  all  these  difficulties  it  is  possible  to 
identify  most  of  the  localities  very  closely,  and  many  of 
them  exactly,  from  Irving's  description.  Pen  pictures 
which  would  probably  pass  for  the  effusions  of  a  versatile 
pen  are  found  to  be  true  to  the  localities  even  at  the  present 
day.  There  are  indeed  some  gaps  and  omissions,  but  these 
are  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  remarkable  feat  of  pre- 
serving so  well  the  line  of  march  in  which  not  a  single  scien- 
tific observation  as  to  course  or  direction  was  taken,  and  in 
a  country  of  which  no  map  had  ever  been  made. 

No  mistake  could  be  greater  than  to  suppose  that  Irving 
took  up  this  subject  simply  as  one  affording  him  a  good 
theme  for  his  ever-ready  pen,  or  that  he  neglected  in  any 
degree  the  weighty  responsibility  of  the  historian.  The 
fur  trade  had  commanded  his  attention  from  early  life. 
He  had  visited  Montreal  and  the  nearer  establishments  of  the 
Northwest  Company,  as  well  as  our  own  prairies.  All  his 
life  he  had  been  thrown  in  contact  with  those  who  had  spent 
much  of  their  time  in  the  wilderness.  The  doings  of  those 
engaged    in    the    fur    trade    "have    always    been    themes 

author  has  not  lost  his  chronology  by  these  omissions,  but  has  carried 
it  along  with  fidelity.  For  example  take  the  following  from  the  nar- 
rative of  the  overland  journey  of  the  Astorians  east:  "On  the  nth  . 
.  .  the  next  day  .  .  .  At  daybreak  .  .  .  Before  daylight 
...  the  next  morning  ...  the  following  day  .  .  .  the  next 
day,  October  17th  "  etc. 


242  ALLEGED    SUBSERVIENCE    TO    MR.    ASTOR. 

of  charmed  interest  to  me,"  he  once  wrote,  "  and  I  have  felt 
anxious  to  get  at  the  details  of  their  adventurous  expedi- 
tions." And  again :  "  It  is  one  object  of  our  task,  how- 
ever, to  present  scenes  of  the  rough  life  of  the  wilderness, 
and  we  are  tempted  to  fix  these  few  memorials  of  a  transient 
state  of  things  fast  passing  into  oblivion."  Such  was  the 
purpose  —  to  "  fix  "  the  "  details  "  of  events  —  and  this 
motive  finds  expression  in  the  remarkable  accuracy  which 
runs  through  the  entire  work. 

As  to  the  charge  of  undue  subservience  to  Mr.  Astor's 
views,  it  is  difficult  to  see  upon  what  it  is  based  unless  it  be 
the  fact  that  these  gentlemen  were  warm  friends.  No  evi- 
dence of  it  can  be  found  in  the  book  itself,  which,  though 
full  of  admiration  for  Mr.  Astor's  enterprise,  is  no  more 
so  than  the  subject  deserves.  Irving's  treatment  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  company  is  eminently  fair,  and  errs, 
if  at  all,  on  the  side  of  generous  indulgence.  How  could 
he  treat  more  considerately  than  he  has  the  action  of  Mr. 
Hunt  or  the  conduct  of  Captain  Thorn?  McDougal  might 
indeed  wince  under  the  lash  of  Irving's  pen,  but  he  could 
scarcely  complain  that  the  punishment  was  greater  than  the 
crime. 

An  oft  repeated  charge  against  Irving  is  that  he  made 
use  of  other  authorities  without  due  acknowledgment  —  and 
of  Franchere's  Narrative  in  particular.  This  is  always  a 
serious  charge,  and  particularly  reprehensible  in  an  eminent 
author  who  filches  from  the  works  of  obscure  writers.  Let 
us  see  what  are  the  facts.  At  the  time  of  the  publication  of 
Astoria,  there  were  four  published  works  which  treated  of 
portions  of  the  enterprise.  These  were  the  works  of  Brack- 
enridge  and  Bradbury,  which  related  only  the  journey  from 
St.  Louis  to  the  Aricara  villages;  and  those  of  Franchere 
and  Cox,  which  treated  of  the  general  history  of  the  enter- 
prise. What  reference  does  Irving  make  to  these  works, 
and  what  is  his  own  statement  concerning  the  "  sources  of 
his  inspiration  "  ?  He  says :  "  All  the  papers  relative  to 
the  enterprise  were  accordingly  submitted  to  my  inspection. 


THE    CHARGE    OF    PLAGIARISM.  243 

Among  them  were  journals  and  letters  narrating  expeditions 
by  land  and  sea,  and  journeys  to  and  fro  across  the  Rocky 
mountains  by  routes  before  untraveled,  together  with  doc- 
uments illustrative  of  savage  and  colonial  life  on  the  borders 
of  the  Pacific.  With  such  materials  in  hand  I  undertook 
the  work."  Again  he  refers  to  the  journals  as  the  authori- 
ties "  on  which  I  chiefly  depended."  He  explicitly  states, 
however,  that  these  were  not  all;  that  he  derived  informa- 
tion from  other  sources,  and  he  tells  us  what  those  sources 
were.  He  adds:  "  I  have,  therefore,  availed  myself  occa- 
sionally of  collateral  lights  supplied  by  the  published  jour- 
nals of  other  travelers  who  had  visited  the  scenes  described : 
such  as  Messrs.  Lewis  and  Clark,  Bradbury,  Brackenridge, 
Long,  Franchere,  and  Ross  Cox,  and  make  a  general 
acknowledgment  of  aid  received  from  these  quarters." 
Not  only  does  he  thus  discharge  with  the  strictest  fidelity  his 
obligation  to  these  authorities,  but  throughout  the  text, 
when  he  makes  direct  citation,  he  states  the  fact  in  a  foot 
note. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  Irving  follows  none  of  his  authorities 
closely,  never  to  the  extent  of  adopting  their  language.  It 
is  indeed  difficult  to  trace  his  indebtedness,  if  there  was  any, 
and  this  fact  alone  negatives  any  possibility  of  extensive 
borrowing.  If  he  did  borrow,  he  so  completely  worked  the 
matter  over  in  his  own  incomparable  style,  that  it  was  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  new  matter. 

The  estimate  that  we  have  here  given  of  Astoria 
applies  as  well  to  Captain  Bonneville,  a  work  equally 
remarkable  for  its  accuracy  of  detail  and  its  comprehensive 
treatment  of  a  wide  range  of  subjects.  These  two  works 
are  the  classics  of  the  American  fur  trade,  unapproached 
and  unapproachable  in  their  particular  field.  They  are  the 
full  fruition  of  Mr.  Irving's  desire  to  "  fix  these  few  memo- 
rials of  a  transient  state  of  things  fast  passing  into  ob- 
livion."2 

'Although  a  few  writers  have  seen  fit  to  refer  disparagingly  to 
Astoria    as    an    historical    authority,    there    are    only    two    who    need 


244  FRANCHERE  S    NARRATIVE. 

be  considered  here  —  Franchere,  whose  Narrative  is  the  earliest  history 
of  Astoria,  and  Bancroft  whose  treatment  is  the  latest. 

Gabriel  Franchere,  who  is  the  most  reliable  authority  on  the  history 
of  Astoria  except  Irving,  took  occasion  in  the  English  edition  of  his 
work,  to  criticise  Astoria  somewhat  severely ;  but  nowhere  does 
he  complain  that  Irving  borrowed  from  him  without  credit.  The 
burden  of  his  complaint  is  that  Irving  gave  publicity  to  the  choleric 
opinions  of  Captain  Thorn  touching  the  young  Canadians  who  sailed 
in  the  Tonquin.  It  was  indeed  too  rich  a  feast  to  be  rejected  by  the 
genial  author,  and  the  world  will  always  thank  him  for  having  made 
the  most  of  it.  Franchere,  who  was  one  of  the  "  engravers  of  tomb- 
stones "  and  writers  of  journals  who  so  moved  the  contempt  of  Captain 
Thorn,  seems  to  have  taken  Irving  seriously  as  endorsing  the  Captain's 
opinions,  whereas  he  only  reports  them.  This  sensitiveness  at  the 
humorist's  treatment  of  the  young  clerks  is  the  only  thing  of  conse- 
quence that  Franchere  has  to  urge  against  Irving  —  a  complaint  with  so 
little  foundation  that  his  editor  felt  called  upon  to  present  a  note  of 
apology. 

Hubert  Howe  Bancroft  has  endeavored  to  appropriate  to  himself 
the  historical  field  of  the  trans-Mississippi  country,  and  his  efforts  in 
this  direction  have  borne  fruit  in  thirty-eight  massive  volumes.  He 
was  compelled  to  rely  mainly  on  co-laborers  whose  heterogeneous  pro- 
ductions have  been  consolidated  under  his  own  direction  and  all  placed 
in  the  first  person  indicative  of  personal  responsibility.  The  work  is 
unquestionably  a  great  one  in  the  breadth  of  subject  covered  and  in  the 
extensive  list  of  authorities  quoted,  and  it  will  always  be  a  valuable  ref- 
erence work  to  the  student.  It  is  not  a  work  of  historical  accuracy 
in  its  details.  Such  accuracy  was  not  to  be  expected ;  for  it  would  have 
been  beyond  the  compass  of  human  genius  to  have  covered  so  vast 
a  field  in  so  short  a  time  and  have  covered  it  well.  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  it  abounds  in  errors  —  wrong  dates,  confusion  of  per- 
sons, events  and  places,  erroneous  reliance  upon  authorities,  and  the 
like  —  which  make  it  unsafe  as  a  guide  for  him  who  would  proceed 
carefully.  These  defects  are  inseparable  from  the  immensity  of  the 
task  and  are  not  to  have  weight  against  the  great  value  of  the  work  as 
a  whole. 

No  such  indulgence,  however,  can  be  extended  to  Mr.  Bancroft's  dis- 
cussion of  certain  historic  questions,  for  pressure  of  work  can  not 
explain  his  implacable  prejudices  and  his  itching  desire  to  put  forth 
theories  which  shall  subvert  popular  ideals  or  overthrow  accepted  con- 
clusions. Particularly,  whenever  it  is  a  question  of  an  American  view 
as  against  a  Spanish,  British,  or  Indian  view,  Mr.  Bancroft,  if  the 
circumstances  will  possibly  admit  it,  ranges  himself  against  his  own 
countrymen. 

In   no    instance    is    this    peculiar    trait    more    flagrantly   in   evidence 


HUBERT    HOWE    BANCROFT.  245 

than  in  his  treatment  of  Astoria,  its  founder  and  its  historian.  His 
persistent  bias  of  judgment  and  his  bitter  prejudice,  which  place  him 
in  an  attitude  of  constant  hostility  toward  Astor  and  Irving,  and  lead 
him  repeatedly  into  sheer  falsifications  and  downright  slander,  are 
wholly  without  rational  explanation.  It  will  be  alike  idle  and  weari- 
some to  examine  in  detail  the  several  pages  of  close  print  in  which  Mr. 
Bancroft  exploits  his  hatred  of  these  two  historic  characters ;  but 
a  few  examples  illustrate  the  tenor  of  the  whole. 

Referring  to  the  articles  of  agreement  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company 
Mr.  Bancroft,  in  his  efforts  to  clear  McDougal,  says :  "  In  their 
agreement  with  Astor  they  [  the  partners  ]  reserved  the  right  to  close 
the  business  should  their  interests  seem  so  to  dictate.  Whatever  loss 
might  arise  from  the  enterprise  fell  on  each  in  proportion  to  their 
share."  This  is  not  so.  TJie  association  was  not  to  be  dissolved 
until  it  should  prove  unprofitable,  and  the  loss  for  the  first  five  years 
was  not  to  be  borne  by  the  partners  in  proportion  to  their  share,  but 
by  Mr.  Astor  alone. 

"Had  this  scheme,"  says  Mr.  Bancroft,  "been  based  on  self-sacrifice, 
on  pecuniary  loss  for  the  public  good,  or  the  promulgation  of  some 
great  principle,  the  current  of  unqualified  sycophancy,  sentimentality, 
and  maudlin  praise  which  runs  through  Astoria  might  be  more  bear- 
able." Since  when  has  Mr.  Bancroft  known  of  a  commercial  enter- 
prise* being  organized  on  the  basis  of  "  pecuniary  loss  for  the  public 
good"?  Commercial  undertakings  are  not  conducted  in  that  way. 
It  is  no  criticism  of  Mr.  Astor's  projects  to  say  that  their  sole  purpose 
and  aim  were  money-making.  All  great  projects  of  discovery  and  col- 
onization have  been  founded  in  commerce.  It  has  been  the  genius  of 
commerce,  rather  than  that  of  arms,  that  has  carried  the  flag  of 
England  around  the  world.  The  first  motive  in  the  foreign  policy  of  all 
governments  is  the  protection  and  fostering  of  the  commercial  enter- 
prises of  their  subjects  wherever  they  may  be.  It  may,  however,  be 
truly  said  of  the  Astorian  enterprise  that  it  did  involve  the  "  promul- 
gation of  a  great  principle "  —  the  cause  of  American  empire  on  the 
Pacific  coast  —  and  it  did  involve  enormous  pecuniary  loss  in  an  enter- 
prise that  was  fraught  with  the  highest  possibility  fo'  the  public  good. 
In  respect  to  the  vicious  attack  upon  Irving  contained  in  this  paragraph, 
the  candid  reader  will  not  find  in  Astoria  a  single  sentence  that  will 
lend  even  the  color  of  justification  to  it. 

Mr.  Bancroft  says  of  Irving  and  Franchere :  "  There  are  whole 
pages  in  Astoria  abstracted  almost  literally  from  Franchere.  Pretend- 
ing to  draw  all  his  information  from  private  sources,  the  author  makes 
no  allusion  to  the  source  to  which  he  is  most  indebted,  not  even  men- 
tioning Franchere's  name  once  in  his  whole  work."  It  is  quite  evident 
that  Mr.  Bancroft  had  never  read  carefully  either  Irving  or  Franchere 
or  he  would  have  avoided  the  pitiful  blunders  contained  in  this  para- 


246  A   DISGRACE   TO    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

graph.  The  reader  is  referred  to  Irving's  own  statement  of  his  authori- 
ties just  given,  and  to  his  acknowledgment  of  aid  from  Franchere, 
Cox  and  others. 

Again  Bancroft  says :  "  In  telling  this  story  [  of  Reed's  massacre  ] 
Irving  takes  whole  sentences  from  Ross  and  Cox  without  a  sign  of 
an  acknowledgment ;  these  works,  however,  were  little  read  in  Amer- 
ica in  Irving's  day."  The  work  of  Ross  was  not  published  until 
thirteen  years  after  Astoria!  Irving  does  not  take  a  sentence  verba- 
tim from  Cox  and  moreover  acknowledges  his  debt  to  that  author  for 
such  information  as  was  derived  from  him.  His  reference  to  Co^'s 
work  was  a  better  introduction  to  the  American  reading  public  than 
the  young  author  could  have  secured  in  any  other  way,  and  Mr. 
Bancroft's  slur  that  Irving  attempted  to  conceal  his  reliance  upon  Cox 
because  of  that  author's  obscurity  is  excusable  only  on  the  ground  of 
ignorance. 

Finally  as  a  climax  to  his  exhibition  of  spleen  Mr.  Bancroft  says: 
"  Up  to  this  time  the  imputation  that  he  [  Irving  ]  had  received  money 
from  Mr.  Astor  for  writing  Astoria  I  believed  to  be  utterly  false  and 
unworthy  of  consideration.  But  ...  I  am  otherwise  unable  to 
account  for  this  unusual  warp  of  judgment."  Mr.  Bancroft  should 
produce  his  facts.  To  Irving  living  he  would  hardly  make  this  accu- 
sation without  proof  in  hand.  It  is  not  the  part  of  courage  at  this  late 
day,  to  placard  the  infamous  slander  upon  the  tombstone  of  one  of 
America's  most  gifted  and  beloved  authors.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 
the  whole  idea  is  a  climax  of  absurdity.  The  work  itself  refutes  the 
charge.  Moreover,  was  Irving  so  simple  as  to  suppose  that  he  would 
escape  detection  at  the  bar  of  history  if  he  departed  knowingly  from 
the  facts?  In  the  fulness  of  his  reputation  is  it  likely  that  he  would 
tarnish  his  great  name  for  any  "  money  "  that  Mr.  Astor  might  give 
him?  Mr.  Bancroft  in  this  aflfair  stands  in  no  higher  character  than 
that  of  libeler  and  slanderer  and  his  performance  is  a  disgrace  to 
American  history. 

A  searching  criticism  of  Mr.  Bancroft's  treatment  of  the  Astorian  en- 
terprise was  published  in  1885  in  the  March  number  of  the  Magazine  of 
American  History.  It  is  from  the  pen  of  Peter  Koch  of  Bozeman, 
Montana. 

I  regret  to  note  in  some  of  the  late  Doctor  Coues'  recent  works  an 
i.'«clination  to  sanction  these  popular  errors  concerning  Irving's 
works  on  the  fur  trade;  and  I  deem  it  only  just  to  say,  as  an  infer- 
ence from  my  correspondence  with  him,  that  these  impressions  were 
rather  the  result  of  reading  hostile  authors  like  Bancroft  than  from 
mature  investigation.  As  his  attention  was  called  through  specific  ex- 
amples to  the  general  accuracy  and  originality  of  these  works,  he  ma- 
terially modified  his  earlier  opinion  of  them. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    FUR    COMPANY. 
ASHLEY  AND  HIS  MEN. 

Wiliiam — H,  Ashley  —  Andrew  Henry  —  Jedediah  S.  Smith  —  The 
Sublettes  —  James  Bridger  —  Thomas  Fitzpatrick  —  Henry  Fraeb  — 
Robert  Campbell  —  David  Jackson  —  Etienne  Provost  and  others. 

^y  HE  founder  of  that  fur-trading  association  which  at  one 
^^  time  in  its  career  bore  the  name  at  the  head  of  this 
chapter,  was  Wilham  H.  Ashley,  of  St.  Louis,  one  of  the 
most  noted  and  successful  of  the  traders.  With  him  was 
associated  Andrew  Henry,  another  distinguished  character 
in  the  early  fur  trade ;  while  in  his  employ  was  a  remarkable 
group  of  young  men  whose  names  in  later  years  became  well 
known  throughout  the  West.  Among  them  were  Jedediah 
S.  Smith,  David  E.  Jackson,  William  L.  Sublette  and  his 
brother  Alilton,  Robert  Campbell,  James  Bridger,  Thomas 
Fitzpatrick,  Samuel  TuUoch,  James  P.  Beckwourth.  Etienne 
Provost,  and  many  others. 

ASHLEY. 

William  Henry  Ashley  was  born  in  Powhatan  county, 
Virginia,  in  1778.  He  came  to  St.  Louis  in  1802,  and  re- 
mained there  until  his  death.  There  is  little  known  about 
his  early  career  in  St.  Louis,  and  it  is  necessary  to  draw  in- 
ferences from  the  occasional  hints  that  are  found  in  the 
newspapers  and  correspondence  of  the  times.  He  was  en- 
gaged at  one  time  in  the  real  estate  business,  and  for  some 
years  prior  to  1820  was  interested  in  the  manufacture  of 
gunpowder  at  Mine  Shibboleth,  having  doubtless  taken  up 
the  business  as  a  consequence  of  the  War  of  1812.  He  was 
also  engaged  in  mining,  then  one  of  the  most  flourishing  in- 
dustries in  Missouri,  and  probably  in  this  way  became  ac- 


248  A    REPRESENTATIVE    AMERICAN. 

quainted  with  his  future  able  partner  in  the  fur  trade,  An- 
drew Henry  "of  the  mines."  In  1814  he  was  one  of  a 
committee  of  gentlemen  to  solicit  subscriptions  for  a  pro- 
posed bank  in  St.  Louis.  He  took  an  active  part  in  devel- 
oping the  militia  of  the  state,  and  gradually  advanced 
through  the  various  grades  of  authority.  He  is  mentioned 
as  Captain  in  181 3,  Colonel  in  1819,  and  General  in  1822, 
being  then  highest  in  command  of  the  state  troops.  In  pol- 
itics, likewise,  he  began  at  an  early  day  to  take  a  hand,  and 
in  1820  was  elected  the  first  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the 
newly  admitted  state  of  Missouri.  ^ 

From  these  scattering  glimpses  of  Ashley's  early  life  it 
may  be  concluded  that  he  was  a  representative  American 
business  man  of  the  frontier  type,  when  fixed  callings  were 
the  exception  and  men  turned  their  hands  to  whatever 
offered  them  the  best  prospect  of  success.  The  twenty 
years'  apprenticeship  served  in  the  school  of  frontier  enter- 
prise had  admirably  equipped  him  to  make  the  most  of  the 
opportunity  of  his  life  which  now  opened  up  before  him, 
absorbing  his  time  for  the  next  six  years  and  leaving  him 
at  the  end  an  independently  wealthy  man. 

The  rise  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  fur  trade  will  be 
sketched  in  the  ensuing  chapter.  Ashley  entered  this  trade 
in  1822  in  partnership  with  Andrew  Henry.  His  early  es- 
says were  not  particularly  encouraging.  In  his  first  expe- 
dition he  lost  a  keelboat  and  cargo  worth  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  in  1823  suffered  a  terrible  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the 
Aricaras,  and  minor  outrages  to  his  force  under  Henry  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone.  In  the  summer  of  1824  he 
was  defeated  as  candidate  for  Governor  of  Missouri.  In 
spite  of  these  reverses,  which  might  well  have  discouraged 
him,  he  set  out  for  the  mountains  in  the  fall  of  1824  with  a 
new  expedition,  having  sent  only  a  little  way  ahead  of  him 
another  under  Henry.  Luck  now  turned  in  his  direction. 
Year  after  year  his  parties  came  down  from  the  mountains 
with  the  most  astonishing  returns,  and  by  1828  his  fortune 
was  assured. 


ELECTED    TO    CONGRESS.  249 

Of  Ashley's  personal  visits  to  the  upper  country  there  were 
only  four.  He  went  as  far  as  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow- 
stone in  1822  and  to  the  Aricara  villages  in  1823.  In  1824 
he  went  to  the  Green  river  valley  and  in  the  following  spring 
to  Great  Salt  Lake.  He  made  another  journey  to  the 
mountains  in  1826,  when  he  sold  out  to  Smith,  Jackson,  and 
Sublette.  He  started  on  a  fifth  trip  in  1827  but  was  pre- 
vented by  ill  health  from  completing  it. 

Ashley  had  at  this  time  formed  a  comprehensive  view  of 
the  way  in  which  the  fur  trade  ought  to  be  conducted.  He 
had  laid  his  plans  to  attempt  the  Blackfoot  country  again, 
in  spite  of  the  disastrous  failures  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Com- 
pany, and  he  had  even  fixed  upon  the  mouth  of  the  Marias 
river  as  the  proper  site  of  his  proposed  establishment.  But 
his  activities  were  now  turned  into  new  fields  and  he  never 
carried  out  these  extensive  designs.  His  financial  fortune 
being  won,  the  old  thirst  for  political  honors  returned.  It 
was  an  opportune  moment  to  present  himself  to  the  people 
as  a  candidate  for  their  suffrages.  He  had  won  a  high  place 
in  public  esteem  by  his  business  successes  and  his  public  spir- 
it, while  his  exploits  in  the  mountains  had  given  an  air  of 
romance  to  his  career  which  counts  for  so  much  in  the  quest 
for  popular  favor.  Keelboats  and  steamboats  were  named 
for  him,  and  "Ashley  beaver"  came  to  have  a  definite  place 
in  the  trade  as  the  name  of  an  extra  fine  brand  of  that  fur. 
His  opinions  on  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  business  of  the 
fur  trade  were  of  the  highest  authority.  In  short,  General 
Ashley  at  this  time  was  the  most  influential  man  in  Missouri, 
next  to  Senator  Benton.^ 

Ashley  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1831  to  fill  the  unex- 
pired term  of  Spencer  Pettis,  who  was  killed  in  a  duel  with 
Thomas  Biddle  on  August  27th  of  that  year.  He  was  twice 
re-elected,  and  continued  in  office  until  March  4,  1837.  His 
services  were  of  great  value  to  the  people  of  his  state.     His 

'  It  is  possible  that  there  were  other  and  more  substantial  induce- 
ments that  led  Gen.  Ashley  to  give  up  his  expeditions  to  the  mountains. 
See  foot  note  to  letter  of  Thomas  Forsythe,  Appendix  E. 


250  ASHLEY  S    GRAVE. 

practical  knowledge  of  the  western  country  made  his  opin- 
ions sought  on  all  questions  relating  to  the  Indian  trade.  He 
supported  the  bill  for  the  permanent  exclusion  of  liquor 
from  the  Indian  country,  but  more  because  it  was  an  admiiv 
istration  measure  than  from  any  belief  in  its  practical  work- 
ings. He  was  instrumental  in  securing  the  first  government 
aid  for  improving  the  channel  of  the  Mississippi  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  St.  Louis.  He  was  popular  in  public  life  and  was 
greatly  assisted  by  his  wife,  better  known  in  after  years  as 
the  wife  of  John  J.  Crittenden,  and  one  of  the  most  accom- 
plished women  of  her  time. 

Ashley  was  in  poor  health  when  he  left  Congress  and  nev- 
er fully  recovered.  He  returned  to  his  beautiful  home  in  St. 
Louis  where  he  remained  until  shortly  before  his  death. 
Early  in  1838,  being  much  broken  down,  he  went  with  his 
wife  to  reside  for  a  time  with  Dr.  James  W.  Moss,  Mrs. 
Ashley's  father,  at  his  home  near  the  confluence  of  the  La 
Mine  and  Missouri  rivers,  hoping  that  the  change  would  be 
beneficial.  In  this  they  were  disappointed;  the  General's 
health  rapidly  failed,  and  he  died  March  26,  1838.  In  ac- 
cordance with  his  request,  made  shortly  before  his  death,  he 
was  buried  on  an  Indian  mound  in  a  beautiful  situation  on  a 
bluff  overlooking  the  Missouri  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  the 
La  Mine  river.^  A  few  years  after  Ashley's  death  a  wooden 
fence  was  built  around  the  grave,  but  this  has  now  decayed, 
and  as  no  monument  was  erected,  the  grave  is  in  a  state  of 
neglect  with  nothing  whatever  to  mark  it  —  a  fate  tliat  has 
befallen  many  another  prominent  man.^"* 

Ashley's  death  was  a  great  loss  to  his  state  and  to  the 
political  party  to  which  he  belonged.  One  of  the  most 
touching  eulogies  ever  devoted  by  the  press  to  the  memory 
of  a  public  man  was  that  which  appeared  in  the  Missouri 
Republican  of  April  3,  1838.     On  the  5th  of  the  same  month 

*The  foregoing  facts  relating  to  the  sickness  and  death  of  General 
Ashley  I  have  from  a  biographical  sketch  by  Wm.  F.  Switzler,  pub- 
lished in  the  Columbia  (Missouri)  Herald  Sept.  22,  1899. 

*  "A  lind  tree  to  the  foot  and  a  cedar  to  the  head  "  of  his  grave  is  the 
present  condition  as  described  by  the  farmer  who  now  owns  the  land. 


ANDREW    HENRY.  25I 

a  meeting  was  held  of  the  citizens  of  St.  Louis  county  to  take 
action  on  his  death,  while  on  every  hand  testimonials  of 
esteem  and  expressions  of  sorrow  were  heard. 

Ashley  is  said  to  have  been  four  times  married,  but  of  his 
earlier  marriages  no  record  survives.  He  was  married  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Christy  October  26,  1825,  immediately  after 
his  return  from  his  first  success  in  the  mountains.  She  lived 
only  five  years  and  in  1833  ^^^  married  a  widow,  Mrs. 
Wilcox,  whose  rare  accomplishments  we  have  elsewhere 
referred  to.     Ashley  left  no  children. 

HENRY. 

Andrew  Henry,  one  of  the  original  incorporators  of  the 
Missouri  Fur  Company,  and  later  the  partner  of  Gen.  W.  H. 
Ashley,  was  born  between  1773  and  1778,  in  Fayette  county, 
Pa.  It  is  not  known  when  he  migrated  West,  but  probably 
before  the  cession  of  Louisiana.  He  joined  the  Missouri 
Fur  Company  injiSogjand  bore  the  brunt  of  the  terrible 
struggle  with  the  Blackfeet  in  the  following  year  at  the 
Three  Forks  of  the  Missouri.  Driven  from  this  position, 
he  crossed  the  Divide  and  built  a  post  on  that  tributary  of 
Snake  river,  which  still  bears  his  name.  He  was  thus  the 
first  American  trader  to  carry  his  business  to  the  Pacific  side 
of  the  mountains.  Unable  to  maintain  himself  there  he 
returned  to  the  settlements  in  the  following  year.  Nothing 
is  known  of  his  doings  for  the  next  ten  years,  but  he  pre- 
sumably went  into  the  business  of  mining,  for  there  is  one 
reference  to  him  about  181 5  as  "Andrew  Henry  of  the 
mines." 

In  1822  he  associated  himself  with  Ashley,  and  his  doings 
during  the  next  two  years  will  presently  be  narrated.  It 
is  not  known  when  he  finally  left  the  Indian  country,  nor 
to  what  business  he  devoted  himself  in  his  later  years.  He 
was  at  one  time  well  off,  but  lost  his  money  by  becoming 
surety  for  defaulting  debtors.  Urged  to  put  his  property 
in  his  wife's  name  to  avoid  its  loss,  he  indignantly  repelled 
the  suggestion,  preferring  to  live  a  poor  man  rather  than 
a  dishonest  one. 


252  JEDEDIAH    S.    SMITH. 

Henry  died  at  his  residence  in  Harmony  township,  Wash- 
ington county,  Missouri,  January  10,  1832.  A  St.  Louis 
paper,  announcing  the  event,  referred  to  him  as  "  a  man 
much  respected  for  his  honesty,  inteIHgence,  and  enterprise. 
.  .  .  One  of  those  enterprising  traders  who  first  explored 
the  wild  and  inhospitable  regions  of  the  Rocky  mountains." 

Henry  married,  late  in  life,  a  beautiful  woman  of  French 
birth  much  younger  than  himself,  whom  he  had  once  car- 
ried as  a  child  in  his  arms,  and  then  playfully  predicted  that 
she  would  yet  be  his  wife.  He  left  a  son,  Patrick,  who  died 
July  15,  1898,  leaving  a  daughter,  Miss  Mary  Henry,  who 
still  resides  in  the  vicinity  of  her  grandfather's  home. 

Henry  is  described  as  tall  and  slender,  yet  of  commanding 
presence,  with  dark  hair  and  light  eyes  inclined  to  blue. 
He  was  fond  of  reading  and  played  the  violin  well.  He 
was  not  a  member  of  any  church,  but  was  a  believer  in  the 
Christian  religion.  He  was  evidently  a  man  of  acts  rather 
than  words,  and  no  letter  or  recorded  expression  of  his  has 
come  down  to  us.  We  know  only  his  signature,  which  may 
be  seen  with  that  of  others  at  the  foot  of  the  articles  of 
incorporation  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company. 

SMITH. 

Jedediah  S.  Smith  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men 
that  ever  engaged  in  the  American  Fur  Trade.  He  was  like 
that  distinguished  character  of  later  years,  Stonewall  Jack- 
son, in  combining  with  the  most  ardent  belief  in,  and  prac- 
tice of,  the  Christian  religion,  an  undaunted  courage,  fierce 
and  impetuous  nature,  and  untiring  energy.  His  deeds  are 
unfortunately  much  veiled  in  obscurity,  but  enough  has  sur- 
vived to  show  that  he  was  a  true  knight  errant,  a  lover  of 
that  kind  of  adventure  which  the  unexplored  West  afforded 
in  such  ample  degree. 

Smith  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York,  of  respectable 
parentage,  was  well  educated,  and  at  about  eighteen  years 
of  age  went  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  entered  the  service  of 
Ashley  and  Henry  in  1823.    It  is  a  singular  coincidence  that 


VOLUNTEERS    TO    CARRY    DISPATCHES.  253 

Smith,  Jackson,  and  Sublette  were  all  in  this  expedition. 
They  greatly  distinguished  themselves  in  the  battle  with 
the  Aricaras,  June  2,  1823.  After  Ashley's  retreat,  and 
while  he  was  waiting  for  the  military  to  come  to  his  relief, 
it  became  important  to  communicate  with  Henry  on  the 
Yellowstone.  It  was  an  extremely  hazardous  errand,  and 
Ashley  called  for  volunteers.  To  the  astonishment  of 
every  one,  young  Smith,  a  mere  youth,  stepped  forward  and 
offered  to  go.  Ashley  was  greatly  impressed  with  the 
young  man's  intrepidity.  He  accepted  the  offer,  but  pre- 
vailed upon  an  experienced  Canadian  Frenchman  to  go  with 
him.  The  mission  was  successfully  performed,  although  not 
without  great  peril. 

The  rest  of  Smith's  career  in  the  fur  trade  will  be  narrated 
in  another  part  of  this  work.  It  was  full  of  the  most  peril- 
ous adventures,  and  carried  him  over  all  the  West,  from  the 
British  boundary  to  the  Mexican  provinces,  and  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  Pacific.  He  was  twice  in  California,  and 
always  referred  to  that  country  as  the  most  beautiful  on  the 
globe.  On  several  occasions  his  escape  from  the  Indians, 
from  grizzly  bears,  and  from  starvation,  bordered  on  the 
miraculous.  In  1826  he  became  senior  member  of  the  firm 
of  Smith,  Jackson,  and  Sublette,  which  sold  out  to  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Fur  Company  in  1830.  The  following  year  the 
three  partners  embarked  in  the  Santa  Fe  trade;  but  during 
the  first  expedition  Smith  lost  his  life  on  the  Cimarron.'* 

"  Smith  was  a  bold,  outspoken,  professing,  and  consistent 
Christian,  the  first  and  only  one  known  among  the  early 
Rocky  mountain  trappers  and  hunters.  No  one  who  knew 
him  well  doubted  the  sincerity  of  his  piety.  He  had  become 
a  communicant  of  the  Methodist  church  before  leaving  his 
home  in  New  York,  and  ...  in  St.  Louis  he  never 
failed  to  occupy  a  place  in  the  church  of  his  choice,  while  he 
gave  generously  to  all  objects  connected  with  the  religion 
which  he  professed  and  loved.  .  .  .  Besides  being  an 
adventurer  and  a  hero,  a  trader  and  a  Christian,  he  was 

*  See  Chapter  XXXI.,  this  Part. 


254  MILTON    G.    SUBLETTE. 

himself  inclined  to  literary  pursuits,  and  had  prepared  a 
geography  and  atlas  of  the  Rocky  mountain  region,  extend- 
ing perhaps  to  the  Pacific,  but  his  death  occurred  before  its 
publication."' 

SUBLETTE. 

This  is  a  name  highly  distinguished  in  the  fur  trade. 
There  were  four  brothers  ^  who  engaged  in  the  trade  — 
Andrew,  Solomon  P.,  Milton  G.,  and  William  L. —  but 
only  the  last  two  bore  a  prominent  part  in  it. 

Milton  G.  Sublette  was  a  great  deal  in  the  mountains  with 
his  elder  brother,  and  was  one  of  the  firm  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Fur  Company,  and  later  of  the  firm  of  Fitzpatrick, 
Sublette  and  Bridger.  He  was  an  able  trader,  although  less 
distinguished  than  William  L.  His  death  was  caused  by  a 
disease  in  his  leg,  which  compelled  him  to  relinquish  his 
expedition  of  1834  to  the  mountains.  His  leg  was  twice 
amputated,  but  to  no  purpose,  and  he  died  at  Fort  Laramie 
December  19,  1836. 

William  L.  Sublette  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
and  successful  of  the  fur  traders,  and  renowned  as  a  bold 
and  hardy  mountaineer.  He  was  born  in  1799,  and  came 
to  St.  Charles  in  181 8,  where  he  commenced  life  by  putting 
up  the  first  billiard  table  in  that  town.  He  came  from 
Kentucky  stock,  and  it  was  claimed  by  the  family  that  his 
grandfather  was  the  slayer  of  Tecumseh,  at  the  battle  of  the 
Thames.  His  ancestors  on  both  sides  were  celebrated  in  the 
frontier  history  of  the  West.  Sublette  was  one  of  the  com- 
pany of  "  enterprising  young  men  "  whom  Ashley  advertised 
for  and  secured  for  his  early  mountain  expeditions  under 
Henry.  With  him  were  Jedediah  S.  Smith  and  David  E. 
Jackson,  who  were  long  and  intimately  associated  with  him 
in  his  later  business  career.  He  was  with  Ashley  at  the 
Aricara  fight,  June  2,  1823,  and  held  the  rank  of  Sergeant- 

'  William  Waldo  in  MS.  No.  135,  Missouri  Historical  Society,  St. 
Louis. 

*A  P.  W.  Sublette  was  killed  by  the  Blackfeet  in  1828  in  the  Rocky 
mountains. 


WILLIAM    L.    SUBLETTE.  255 

Major  in  the  attack  upon  the  villages  August  9-1 1,  under 
Leavenworth. 

His  name  does  not  occur  often  in  the  next  three  years, 
but  it  is  certain  that  he  was  actively  engaged  in  the  mountain 
trade  under  Ashley,  for  in  1826,  he,  with  Smith  and  Jack- 
son, bought  out  Ashley  and  succeeded  to  his  business  under 
the  firm  name  of  Smith,  Jackson  and  Sublette. 

This  partnership  being  dissolved  by  the  death  of  Smith 
in  1 83 1,  Sublette  remained  foot  loose  in  business  connections 
until  the  fall  of  1832.  In  the  summer  of  that  year  he  went 
to  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  rendezvous  in  Pierre's 
Hole,  where  he  participated  in  the  celebrated  battle  with 
the  Blackfeet  July  i8th,  in  which  he  received  a  severe 
wound. 

On  the  20th  of  December,  1832,  Sublette  formed  a  part- 
nership with  his  fast  friend,  Robert  Campbell,  who  had  long 
been  a  companion  on  his  mountain  expeditions.  This  firm 
continued  for  ten  years  and  constituted  the  only  serious 
opposition  which  the  American  Fur  Company  had  to 
encounter  during  this  time.  Their  two  principal  trading 
posts  were  on  the  Platte  at  the  mouth  of  the  Laramie,  and 
on  the  Missouri,  near  Fort  Union.  The  firm  was  dissolved 
by  mutual  agreement  January  12,  1842,  Campbell  apparently 
taking  the  business,  although  there  is  evidence  that  the  firm 
name  was  longer  continued. 

Sublette  did  not  long  survive  the  close  of  his  affairs  in 
the  Indian  country.  While  on  his  way  to  Washington  in 
1845  he  died  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  23rd  of 
July. 

From  a  passport  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  M.  L. 
Gray,  of  St.  Louis,  granted  by  the  United  States  govern- 
ment to  Sublette  in  1831  to  enable  him  to  visit  Santa  Fe 
and  other  points  in  New  Mexico,  we  have  the  following 
description  of  his  personal  appearance :  "  Height  six  feet 
two  inches ;  forehead  straight  and  open ;  eyes  blue,  light ; 
nose  Roman  ;  mouth  and  chin  common ;  hair  light  or  sandy ; 
complexion  fair ;  face  long  and  expressive ;  scar  on  left  side 
of  chin."     He  was  at  this  time  thirty-two  years  old. 


256  POLITICAL    ASPIRATIONS. 

While  not  a  man  of  conspicuous  ability  Sublette  was 
admirably  adapted  to  the  business  of  the  mountain  fur 
trade ;  was  feared  and  respected  by  the  Indians ;  and  was 
a  bold  and  successful  leader.  His  partner,  Campbell,  and 
he  were  fast  friends,  and  in  a  will  of  Campbell's  dated  July 
27,  1835.  Sublette  was  included.  This  recalls  an  incident 
in  the  life  of  these  two  men  when  they  went  into  the  battle 
of  Pierre's  Hole  in  1832.  Each  made  his  will  orally  to  the 
other  as  they  were  hastening  to  the  conflict,  but  fortunately 
both  escaped. 

Sublette  had  some  political  aspirations,  but  they  were 
never  satisfied.  A  curious  and  interesting  document  in 
more  ways  than  one,  is  among  the  Sublette  papers  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  Gray.  It  is  entitled,  "  Give  the  Pioneer 
a  hoire!  William  L.  Sublette,"  and  is  written  by  one  of 
Sublette's  friends  who  signs  himself  a  "  Pioneer  of  the  Far 
West  —  one  of  the  hardy  race  which  have  been  opening  the 
wild  country  in  advance  of  the  thick  settlements  since  the 
first  colonization  of  our  continent."  It  is  a  strong  plea  for 
the  election  of  Sublette  to  Congress.  After  reviewing  the 
situation  generally  in  a  strain  which  today  would  stamp  him 
as  a  loyal  believer  in  the  Chicago  Platform  of  1896,  the 
writer  presents  his  candidate  "  as  amongst  the  fittest  of  the 
prominent  men  of  our  party  to  be  placed  on  the  general  ticket 
for  Congress.  His  experience,  fit  age,  chivalric  character, 
his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  people,  and  their  confi- 
dence in  him,  and  above  all  his  undeviating  adherence  to,  and 
practice  of,  the  pure  Democratic-Republican  principles 
through  his  past  life,  are  the  qualifications  which  endear 
him  to  the  people."  All  this,  though  politics,  was  true, 
but  it  did  not  avail  to  send  him  to  Congress. 

In  1 84 1  Sublette  was  appointed  aide-de-camp  to  Governor 
Thomas  Reynolds.  In  the  spring  of  1845  ^^^  wrote  to  Sen- 
ator Benton  to  see  if  he  could  not  secure  the  superintendency 
of  Indian  Affairs  at  St.  Louis,  and  it  was  probably  on  this 
business  that  he  was  going  to  Washington  when  his  last 
illness  overtook  him. 


JAMES    BRIDGER.  257 

Sublette  was  independently  rich  when  he  died.  He  lived 
in  much  comfort,  and  always  maintained  a  lively  interest  in 
his  Far  West  career.  At  the  Sublette  and  Campbell  store 
there  was  a  wigwam  in  which  an  Indian  family  was  main- 
tained. He  had  several  Indians  around  him,  who,  when 
they  died,  were  buried  in  the  private  burying  ground  of  the 
Sublettes.  On  the  Sublette  farm  were  kept  specimens  of  the 
wild  fauna,  while  in  the  house  were  numerous  curiosities 
characteristic  of  Indian  life.  He  was  called  Fate  by  the 
Indians. 

Sublette  was  buried  in  the  private  burying  ground  on  the 
farm  in  the  outskirts  of  St.  Louis,  and  in  later  years  his 
remains  were  removed  to  Bellefontaine  cemetery,  where  they 
now  rest.     The  place  is  marked  by  a  granite  shaft. 

Sublette  was  married  to  Miss  Frances  Hereford,  of  Tus- 
cumbia,  Alabama,  March  21,  1844.  Gossip  surrounds  this 
incident  with  a  little  romance  worthy  of  mention.  It  is 
said  that  the  lady  in  question  had  formed  a  prior  attach- 
ment to  William's  younger  brother,  Solomon  P.,  but  that 
William's  greater  fortune  turned  the  scale  in  his  favor. 
When  Sublette  died,  soon  after  his  marriage,  he  willed  his 
property  to  his  wife  on  condition  that  she  should  not  change 
her  name.  Four  years  after  her  husband's  death  she  mar- 
ried her  first  love,  Solomon  P. 

By  one  of  those  peculiar  fatalities  which  now  and  then 
overtake  families,  the  Sublette  family  has  becorne  almost 
extinct. 

BRIDGER. 

James  Bridger,  who  was  generally  considered  the  ablest 
hunter,  mountaineer  and  guide  of  the  West,  was  born  in 
Richmond,  Virginia,  March  17,  1804.  His  father's  name 
was  William,  and  his  mother's  name  was  Chloe.  They  kept 
a  tavern  in  Richmond.  In  1812  they  went  to  St.  Louis,  but 
soon  moved  to  Six-Mile  Prairie,  where  they  passed  the  rest 
of  their  lives.  When  Bridger  was  thirteen  years  old  he  was 
apprenticed  to  Phil  Creamer,  of  St.  Louis,  to  learn  the  black- 
smith trade.     Nothing  is  known  of  him  for  the  next  five 


258  ESTABLISHES    FORT    BRIDGER. 

years.  In  1822  he  went  to  the  Indian  country  in  the  party 
under  Andrew  Henry,  which  contained  so  many  names  after- 
ward distinguished  in  Western  history.  There  is  some  evi- 
dence tl^at  he  was  the  young  man  of  the  party  who  deserted 
Hugh '^lass  in  1823."^  Bridger  was  one  of  the  band  of 
explorers  among  whom  were  Etienne  Provost  and  Andrew 
Henry,  who  discovered  South  Pass  and  opened  up  the  trade 
of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  and  Green  river  valleys.  He  is 
the  first  white  man  whom  we  know  to  have  seen  the  Great 
Salt  Lake.     He  visited  it  in  the  winter  of  1824-5. 

It  would  be  an  endless  task  to  trace  the  ubiquitous  wan- 
derings of  this  restless  mountaineer  during  the  next  forty 
years  of  his  life.  There  was  scarcely  an  accessible  spot  in 
the  mountains  that  he  was  not  acquainted  with.  He  had 
become  a  daring  leader  before  1830  and  in  that  year  was 
one  of  the  partners  of  the  newly  organized  firm  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Fur  Company.  He  led  his  expeditions  in  every 
direction,  saw  many  a  fight  with  the  Indians,  and  in  1832 
was  wounded  in  the  back  by  an  arrow,  which  was  extracted 
in  1835  by  the  missionary.  Dr.  Whitman.  After  the  dis- 
banding of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  Bridger 
entered  the  service  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  and  he 
seems  to  have  been  with  the  company  from  that  time  on,  for 
several  years,  or  at  least  as  late  as  1843.  There  is  on  record 
a  power  of  attorney  to  William  L.  Sublette  executed  by 
Bridger  for  the  collection  from  Pratte,  Chouteau  and  Com- 
pany of  $3,317.13  for  two  years'  services.  It  is  dated 
Wind  river,  July  13,  1838.  For  several  years  Bridger  was 
associated  with  one  Vasquez,  in  hunting  enterprises  for  the 
American  Fur  Company.  In  1843  he  founded  Fort  Bridger 
on  Black's  Fork  of  Green  river,  and  it  became  one  of  the 
famous  posts  of  the  West.  After  1843  Bridger  led  a  more 
regular  order  of  life,  giving  much  of  his  time  to  his  busi- 
ness at  Fort  Bridger  and  gradually  drifting  into  govern- 
ment service.  His  long  schooling  of  twenty-five  years  in 
this  wild  country  had  given  him  qualifications  as  a  guide 

'  See  Part  IV.,  Chapter  VIII. 


THOMAS    FITZPATRICK.  259 

not  surpassed  by  any  other.  He  was  in  constant  demand 
on  official  expeditions,  and  always  commanded  a  good  sal- 
ary. Almost  continuously  for  upward  of  twenty  years  he 
was  engaged  in  this  work,  and  was  as  much  entitled  to  be 
called  a  veteran  as  were  any  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  of 
the  army. 

But  neither  the  business  of  his  earlier  life  nor  that  which 
followed  could  long  continue.  Both  related  to  phases  of 
American  history  which  were  essentially  evanescent. 
Bridger  lived  to  see  the  conditions  which  made  a  career  like 
his  possible  pass  entirely  away ;  and  in  his  later  years  he  must 
have  felt  like  a  man  without  a  country,  so  different  was 
his  environment  then  from  that  in  which  he  had  passed  his 
prime.  His  keenest  enjoyment  in  his  old  age  was  to  find 
some  comrade  of  his  early  life  with  whom  he  might  live 
over  again  those  adventures  which  now  existed  only  in 
memory. 

Late  in  life  Bridger  settled  on  a  farm  near  Westport, 
Missouri,  now  a  part  of  Kansas  City.  Here  he  died  July 
17,  1881. 

Bridger  gained  his  chief  reputation  as  a  guide,  and  it 
would  be  easy  to  fill  pages  with  the  voluntary  testimonials 
of  his  contemporaries  from  published  narratives  of  the 
times.  All  references  to  him  are  in  his  praise,  and  although, 
like  any  man  of  prominence,  he  had  his  enemies,  these  were 
generally  confined  to  rivals  in  his  particular  calling,  who 
were  jealous  of  his  superiority. 

FITZPATRICK. 

Thomas  Fitzpatrick  was  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company,  and  later  was  much  in  the 
service  of  the  government  during  the  era  of  exploration. 
Like  many  other  men  of  this  period  his  comings  and  goings 
are  lost  behind  the  scenes,  and  all  that  is  known  of  him  is 
from  transient  glimpses  while  he  is  passing  across  the  stage 
before  us.  He  went  to  the  mountains  with  Ashley,  and 
was  with  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  throughout  its 


V 


260  ROBERT    CAMPBELL. 

career.  After  the  downfall  of  the  fur  business  he  contin- 
ued in  the  West,  and  is  frequently  mentioned  in  narratives  of 
travel  of  that  period.  He  was  often  employed  by  the  gov- 
ernment as  a  guide,  and  probably  knew  the  Western  country 
as  well  as  any  man  except  Bridger.  He  was  known  to  the 
Indians  as  the  Bad  Hand. 

FRAEB. 

Henry  Fraeb  ^  was  a  member  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur 
Company  from  1830  to  1834,  and  was  distinguished  among 
the  mountaineers  for  his  skill  and  courage  as  a  partisan. 
He  must  have  followed  the  mountains  for  as  many  as  fif- 
teen years.  He  was  killed  on  St.  Vrain's  fork  of  the  Yam- 
pah  river  in  southern  Wyoming,  in  the  latter  part  of  August, 
1841,  in  a  battle  between  about  sixty  whites  and  a  war  party 
of  Sioux  and  Cheyennes.  Fraeb  and  four  companions  were 
killed.  The  battle  is  supposed  to  have  been  near  a  fort 
built  by  Fraeb  in  this  locality,  which  was  then  or  soon  after 
destroyed. 

CAMPBELL. 

Robert  Campbell  was  born  in  1804  in  Aughlane,  County 
Tyrone,  Ireland,  and  came  to  St.  Louis  in  1824.  A  year 
later  he  was  prostrated  with  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  and 
upon  the  advice  of  physicians  undertook  a  trip  to  the  moun- 
tains in  one  of  Ashley's  parties.  The  result  was  a  complete 
restoration  of  his  health.  He  remained  in  the  mountain 
trade  for  the  next  twenty  years  or  more,  but  personally  with- 
drew from  conduct  of  operations  in  the  field  about  1835. 
His  partnership  with  Sublette  has  been  noted  elsewhere. 

Campbell  became  one  of  the  foremost  business  men  of  St. 
Louis.  In  the  course  of  his  career  he  was  president  of  the 
old  State  Bank  and  of  the  Merchants'  National  Bank,  and 
the  owner  of  the  Southern  Hotel.  In  1851  he  was  a  Com- 
missioner with  Father  De  Smet  to  treat  with  the  Indians 
in    the    great    conference    near    Fort    Laramie.     He    was 

*  Always  spelled,  and  of  course  pronounced,  by  his  contemporaries 
Frapp,  but  signed  by  himself  as  above. 


I 


OTHER    NOTED    CHARACTERS.  261 

appointed  by  President  Grant  on  a  similar  commission  in 
1869.     He  died  in  St.  Louis  October  i6,  1879. 

These  are  some  ot  the  more  prominent  of  the  "  enterpris- 
ing young  men "  whom  Ashley  took  with  him  to  the 
mountains.  One  not  considered  here  was  David  Jackson, 
of  whose  biography  nothing  worthy  of  mention  has  come  to 
light  except  his  association  with  Smith  and  Sublette.  He 
was  fortunate  in  bequeathing  his  name  to  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  situations  in  nature  —  the  valley  and  lake  at  the 
eastern  base  of  the  Teton  mountains. 

It  is  a  remarkable  coincidence  that  Ashley  should  have 
drawn  together  under  his  banner  so  many  choice  spirits,  and 
in  this  good  fortune  may  be  discerned  something  of  the  secret 
of  his  success.  There  were  many  others  of  note,  besides 
those  whose  names  are  here  given.  There  was  Etienne 
Provost,  one  of  the  best  and  most  reliable  of  the  mountain 
men,  believed  to  have  been  the  discoverer  of  South  Pass, 
and  the  same  whose  name  now  designates  the  city  of  Provo, 
Utah.  There  was  old  Hugh  Glass  —  he  of  the  duel  with 
the  grizzly  bear  —  and  there  were  Edward  Rose,  the  Crow 
man,  and  James  Beckwourth,  the  inimitable  fabricator  of 
frontier  yarns.  There  were  also  Mike  Fink,  the  famous 
shot  and  treacherous  friend,  and  his  victim,  Carpenter,  and 
Carpenter's  avenger,  Talbot.  How  many  others  there  were 
we  do  not  know,  but  these  are  enough  to  make  Ashley's 
expeditions  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  West. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  ROCKY   MOUNTAIN   FUR   COMPANY. 
UNDER    WILLIAM    H.    ASHLEY. 

Ashley's  advertisement  —  Plan  of  Gen.  Ashley  —  Henry's  expedition 
of  1822  —  Ashley's  expedition  of  1823  —  Treacherous  character  of  the 
Aricaras  —  The  affair  at  the  Aricara  villages  —  Ashley's  retreat  —  Ex- 
press sent  to  Henry  and  to  Fort  Atkinson  —  Henry  joins  Ashley  —  Hen- 
ry returns  to  the  Yellowstone  and  Ashley  to  St.  Louis  —  Henry  moves 
up  the  Yellowstone  —  South  Pass  discovered  —  Jedediah  S.  Smith  visits 
Hudson  Bay  Company  posts  —  Henry  goes  10  St.  Louis  and  immediately 
returns  to  the  mountains  —  Ashley's  doings  in  1823-4  —  Change  in  meth- 
od of  business  —  Ashley  goes  to  Green  river  valley  —  Ashley  descends 
Green  river  and  is  shipwrecked  —  Meeting  of  Ashley  and  Provost  — 
Provost's  party  massacred  by  the  Snakes  —  Ashley  south  of  Salt  Lake  — 
Ashley  and  Ogden  —  Ashley  starts  for  St.  Louis  —  Meets  General  At- 
kinson at  mouth  of  Yellowstone  —  Arrives  in  St.  Louis  —  Marries  — 
Returns  to  the  mountains  in  1826 — Sells  out  to  Smith,  Jackson  and 
Sublette  —  Etienne  Provost's  defection  —  Effect  of  Ashley's  success. 

'^'HE  beginning  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company 
^^  may  be  definitely  traced  to  the  following  announce- 
ment, which  appeared  in  the  Missoiiri  Republican  of  St. 
•^i  Louis,  March  20,  1822:  "To  enterprising  young  men. 
^J^^he  subscriber  wishes  to  engage  one  hundred  young  men  to 
ascend  the  Missouri  river  to  its  source,  there  to  be  employed 
for  one,  two,  or  three  years.  For  particulars  enquire  of 
Major  Andrew  Henry,  near  the  lead  mines  in  the  coimty 
of  Washington,  who  will  ascend  with,  and  command,  the 
party;  or  of  the  subscriber  near  St.  Louis."  [Signed.] 
"  William  H.  Ashley."  The  first  recorded  license  for  Ash- 
ley to  trade  on  the  upper  Missouri  bears  date  of  April  11, 
1822,  and  "  a  license  of  precisely  the  same  tenor  and  date 
was  granted  to  Major  Andrew  Henry." 


HENRY    COMMANDS    EXPEDITION.  263 

The  response  to  this  advertisement  was  prompt  and  sat- 
isfactory. The  desired  number  was  duly  enrolled  and  was 
made  up  almost  entirely  from  young  men,  "  many  of  whom 
had  relinquished  the  most  respectable  employments  and 
circles  of  society  for  the  arduous  "  life  of  the  wilderness. 
The  plan  was  to  ascend  to  the  Three  Forks  of  the  IMissouri, 
a  region  which  was  believed  to  abound  in  a  "  wealth  of  furs 
not  surpassed  by  the  mines  of  Peru."  The  party  would  be 
absent  three  years,  trapping  on  all  "  the  streams  on  both 
sides  of  the  mountains  in  that  region,  and  would  very  likely 
penetrate  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia." 

The  expedition  was  commanded  by  Andrew  Henry,*  and 
left  St.  Louis  about  April  15,  with  two  keelboats  laden  with 
merchandise  and  trapping  equipments.  It  passed  Franklin 
April  25.  About  twenty  miles  below  old  Fort  Osage  the 
party  met  with  a  heavy  misfortune  in  the  loss  of  a  keelboat 
from  striking  a  snag.  It  sank  almost  instantly,  carrying 
down  property  valued  at  ten  thousand  dollars.  It  was  with 
difficulty  that  the  crew  were  saved.  In  spite  of  this  heavy 
loss  the  expedition  kept  on  and  met  with  no  incident  of 
serious  import  until  after  it  had  passed  the  Mandans.  On 
his  way  from  the  Mandan  villages  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone  in  the  month  of  August,  Henry  met  with  a 
serious  mishap  at  the  hands  of  the  Assinibolne  Indians.  He 
was  aboard  the  boat  while  a  land  party  wuth  some  fifty 
horses  were  following  the  river  bank.  At  a  point  where 
the  river  channel  was  for  a  considerable  distance  near  the 
farther  bank,  forcing  the  parties  away  from  each  other,  a 
band  of  Indians  met  the  shore  party,  and  under  the  guise  of 
friendship  got  possession  of  the  horses  and  then  rode  off. 
It  was  the  plan  of  the  expedition  to  push  on  to  the  Falls  of 
the  Missouri  the  present  season  and  commence  a  fort  there, 
but  the  loss  of  the  horses  prevented.  A  post  ^  was  accord- 
ingly established  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  and  the 

^Ashley  was  also  with  the  party  and  ascended  as  far  as  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Yellowstone,  returning  in  the  fall. 
^  See  list  of  posts,  Appendix  F. 


264  CHARACTER    OF    THE    ARICARAS. 

winter  was  spent  there.  The  hunters  explored  and  trapped 
the  streams  in  that  section,  and  Henry  secured  a  fresh  sup- 
ply of  horses. 

Early  the'  next  spring  Henry  set  out  for  the  Blackfoot 
country.  The  details  of  his  expedition  are  extremely  mea- 
ger, and  all  that  is  known  is  that  he  was  attacked  by  the 
Blackfeet  in  the  neighborhood  of  Great  Falls  with  the  loss 
of  four  men  killed,  and  was  driven  out  of  the  country.  He 
returned  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  sometime  in 
June,  1823. 

In  the  meantime  Ashley  had  advertised  at  St.  Louis  for 

'^^v.-.^^another  one  hundred  men  and  had  organized  his  disastrous 

y    expedition  of  1823.     He  accompanied  it  himself,  and  left 

St.  Louis  with  two  keelboats  on  the  loth  of  March.     His 

progress  was  without  notable  incident  vmtil  his  arrival  before 

the  Aricara  villages  on  the  30th  of  May. 

The  fickle  and  treacherous  character  of  these  Indians  was 
well  understood.^  It  could  never  be  predicted  what  their 
attitude  would  be.  In  1804  and  1806  they  were  friendly  to 
Lewis  and  Clark.  In  1807  they  attacked  and  defeated 
Ensign  Pryor  and  his  party,  who  were  escorting  the  Mandan 
chief  home.  The  Missouri  Fur  Company  and  the  Astorians 
had  no  serious  trouble  with  them  in  181 1,  but  in  1816  or 
181 7  they  attacked  a  party  of  whites  and  killed  one  man. 
In  1820  they  robbed  two  trading  houses  of  the  Missouri 
Fur  Company,  located  one  above  and  one  below  the  Great 
Bend  of  the  Missouri.  Pilcher,  who  first  visited  them  in 
1822,  found  them  exceedingly  friendly,  and  was  quite 
deceived  in  regard  to  their  true  character.  The  Indians 
continued  their  depradations,  however,  and  even  tried  to 
waylay  Pilcher  himself  on  his  descent  of  the  river.  During 
the  month  of  March,  1823,  they  went  down  the  river  to 
the  Missouri  Fur  Company  establishment  among  the  Sioux, 
where  they  robbed  1  party  of  whites,  and  finally,  to  the 
number  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen,  attacked  the  trading 
house.     They  were  repulsed  with  the  loss  of  several  wound- 

•  See  Chapter  IX.,  Part  V. 


PROGRESS  OF  NEGOTIATIONS.  265 

ed  and  two  killed,  including  the  son  of  a  principal  chief. 
Such  was  the  record  of  this  tribe  down  to  May,  1823,  when 
General  Ashley  arrived  before  their  villages. 

It  was  Ashley's  intention  to  imitate  Hunt's  course  of 
twelve  years  before,  and  to  purchase  a  number  of  horses 
from  the  Aricaras,  so  that  he  could  send  a  portion  of  his 
men  across  the  country  to  the  Yellowstone.  This  was  the 
more  important  because  an  express  had  just  arrived  from 
Henry,  urging  Ashley  to  bring  up  all  the  horses  he  could 
secure.  It  was  decided  therefore  to  open  up  a  trade  with 
the  Aricaras,  who  were  always  well  provided  with  these  ani- 
mals. The  conduct  of  these  negotiations,  and  their  lament- 
able outcome,  will  be  described  very  nearly  in  General 
Ashley's  own  words. 

The  General  was  not  wholly  unprepared  for  a  hostile 
demonstration,  although  these  Indians  had  treated  him  with 
great  friendship  the  year  before.  He  knew  the  character 
of  the  tribe  and  had  reason  to  expect  that  they  would  be  in 
a  revengeful  mood  on  account  of  the  recent  loss  of  two  of 
their  warriors.  Upon  his  arrival,  therefore,  he  anchored  his 
two  keelboats  well  out  in  the  stream  and  himself  with  two 
men  went  on  shore.  Here  he  met  some  of  the  principal 
chiefs,  who  professed  friendship  and  expressed  a  desire  to 
trade.  Ashley  then  proposed  that  the  chiefs  of  the  two  vil- 
lages should  meet  him  on  the  sand  beach  where  all  the  details 
of  the  trade  could  be  arranged.  After  a  long  consultation 
among  themselves,  the  Indians  agreed  to  his  proposal,  and 
the  council  was  held  at  the  designated  place.  Ashley  made 
the  chiefs  some  presents,  at  which  they  appeared  well  pleased. 
He  then  said  that  he  had  understood  that  they  had  had  some 
trouble  with  a  party  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company,  and 
feared  that  they  might  be  disposed  to  harm  him.  He 
explained  to  them  the  probable  consequences  of  such  an 
attempt.  The  Indians  replied  that  the  angry  feelings  which 
the  event  had  stirred  up  were  now  allayed,  and  that  they 
considered  the  whites  their  friends.  A  price  for  the  horses 
was   agreed   upon,   the   trading  commenced,   and   by  the 


266  ROSE    WARNS    ASHLEY. 

evening  of  the  ist  of  June,  Ashley  had  completed  his  prep- 
arations and  had  arranged  to  set  out  the  next  morning  with 
both  the  boat  and  land  parties.  He  was  intending  to  con- 
duct the  land  party  himself. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  ist  the  chief  of  one  of  the 
villages  sent  an  invitation  to  Ashley  to  visit  him  at  his  lodge. 
Ashley  hesitated,  but  finally  decided  to  go,  lest  his  refusal 
might  lead  the  Indians  to  think  he  distrusted  them.  Accord- 
ingly he  went  with  his  interpreter  to  call  on  the  chief,  who 
received  him  with  every  evidence  of  friendship,  as  did  also 
several  other  chiefs  who  were  present.  Ashley  was  quite 
thrown  off  his  guard  by  these  well-played  deceptions,  and 
returned  to  his  quarters  on  the  boat  confident  that  every- 
thing was  all  right. 

It  should  be  stated,  although  Ashley  makes  no  mention 
of  it,  that  he  was  warned  at  this  time  to  be  on  his  guard. 
His  interpreter,  the  noted  Edward  Rose,  cautioned  him  that, 
from  signs  apparent  to  those  versed  in  Indian  wiles,  trouble 
of  sorae  sort  was  brewing.  Ashley  seems  to  have  been 
about  as  suspicious  of  Rose  as  Hunt  had  been  twelve  years 
before,  and  with  just  as  little  reason.  He  rejected  Rose's 
advice  to  moor  the  boats  for  the  night  against  a  bar  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  not  only  remained  near  the 
shore  next  to  the  villages,  but  even  left  his  land  party 
encamped  on  the  beach.  Among  the  latter  were  Smith, 
Sublette,  and  Jackson.  This  party  numbered  about  forty 
men,  and  had  with  them  all  the  horses  which  had  been  pur- 
chased. 

The  Aricara  Indians  at  this  time  resided  in  two  villages, 
the  lower  one  containing  seventy-one  dirt  lodges,  and  the 
uDper  one  seventy.  Both  towns  had  been  newly  picketed 
with  timber,  which,  according  to  General  Ashley,  was  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  feet  high,  and  six  inches  thick.  There 
was  a  ditch  outside,  and  part  of  the  way  inside  also,  and  the 
earth  was  banked  up  against  the  inside  to  a  height  of 
eighteen  inches.  The  lower  village  where  Ashley  was 
encamped  was  on  the  convex  bend  of  the  river  with  a  large 


OPENING    OF  ATTACK.  267 

sand  bar  in  front,  forming  nearly  two-thirds  of  a  circle. 
Between  the  bar  and  the  shore  on  which  the  village  stood  ran 
the  river.  At  the  head  of  the  bar  the  channel  was  very  nar- 
row and  here  the  Indians  had  built  a  timber  breastwork 
which  entirely  commanded  the  river.  They  had  shown 
excellent  judgment  in  their  arrangements  both  for  attack 
and  defense.^  There  were  even  indications  that  a  party  of 
Indians  was  concealed  on  the  opposite  bank  at  a  point  where 
the  river  channel,  after  passing  the  upper  village,  ran  close 
to  the  east  shore. 

At  about  half  past  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  June 
2nd,  Ashley  was  awakened  and  informed  that  one  of  his 
men  had  been  killed  by  the  Aricaras,  and  that  an  immediate 
attack  on  his  parties  was  threatened.  Instant  preparations 
r^were  made  for  defense.  As  soon  as  daylight  came  the 
Indians  opened  fire  from  a  line  along  the  picketing  of  the 
town  for  some  six  hundred  yards.  The  ground  was  broken 
and  there  was  some  timber  shelter  so  that  the  Indians 
fought  with  every  advantage  of  good  cover.  Their  fire 
was  heavy  and  mainly  concentrated  on  the  party  on  shore, 
who  used  their  horses  as  a  breastwork.  The  whites  returned 
the  fire  with  vigor,  but  the  Indians  were  so  well  concealed 
that  they  suffered  but  little  injury. 

As  soon  as  the  firing  commenced  Ashley  undertook  to 
have  the  horses  swum  across  to  a  submerged  sand  bar  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river,  but  before  he  could  accomplish 
anything  the  fire  had  become  so  destructive  that  he  aban- 
doned the  attempt.  He  then  undertook  to  move  his  keel- 
boats  in  shore,  a  distance  of  only  about  ninety  feet,  in  order 
to  take  on  the  men,  but  the  boatmen  w^ere  so  panic-stricken 
that  they  refused  to  expose  themselves  in  the  least  degree. 
Ashley  then  managed  to  get  two  skiffs  ashore  capable  of 
holding  about  thirty  men,  but  the  land  party  were  deter- 
mined not  to  yield,  and  only  seven  men,  four  of  whom  were 

* "  I  think  that  about  three-fourths  of  them  [the  Indians]  are  armed 
with  London  fusils  that  carry  a  ball  with  great  accuracy  and  force,  and 
which  they  use  with  as  much  expertness  as  any  men  I  ever  saw  handle 
arms."    Ashley. 


268  DEFEAT  OF  ASHLEY's  PARTY. 

wounded,  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity.  The  small 
skiff  with  two  men  wounded,  one  mortally,  made  for  the 
opposite  shore.  The  large  skiff,  after  transferring  its  five 
men  to  the  keelboat,  was  sent  back,  but  before  it  reached  the 
shore  one  of  the  men  who  were  handling  it  was  shot  down 
and  in  some  way  the  boat  got  adrift.  By  this  time  nearly 
all  the  horses  were  killed  and  half  the  men  on  shore  were 
either  killed  or  wounded.  Ashley  made  every  possible  effort 
to  move  the  keelboats  in  shore,  but  to  no  purpose.  The  men 
on  the  beach,  seeing  the  uselessness  of  further  resistance, 
retreated  into  the  river  and  swam  to  the  boats.  Several 
who  tried  to  reach  the  boats  after  being  wounded  were 
drowned.  So  fiercely  did  the  conflict  rage  that  it  was  only 
fifteen  minutes  from  the  time  the  attack  began  until  the  shore 
party  was  dispersed  and  the  remnant  had  reached  the  boats. 
The  anchor  of  one  of  the  boats  was  raised  and  the  cable  of 
the  other  cut,  and  they  thus  drifted  down  out  of  the  reach 
of  the  villages  and  put  ashore  at  the  first  timber,  apparently 
on  the  head  of  Ashley  Island,  a  short  distance  below.^ 

Ashley's  purpose  now  was,  after  landing  at  the  timber, 
to  put  the  party  in  better  shape  for  defense  and  then  to  renew 
his  efforts  to  pass  the  village.  But  to  his  "  surprise  and 
mortification,"  he  was  "  told  by  the  men  (with  a  few  excep- 
tions) that  under  no  circumstances  would  they  make  a  sec- 

'  Two  accounts  of  this  battle  state  that  the  Indians  finally  succeeded 
in  getting  between  the  land  party  and  the  river,  thus  cutting  off  retreat, 
whereupon  the  survivors  were  compelled  to  cut  their  way  out,  leaping  in- 
to the  river  and  swimming  to  the  boats.     But  this  was  not  the  case. 

Of  the  whites  there  were  killed  on  the  spot  twelve,  and  two  of  the 
wounded  died  soon  after,  making  fourteen.  Thefe  were  also  nine 
wounded,  making  a  total  of  twenty-three  casualties.  All  the  horses  and 
such  of  the  property  as  was  on  shore  were  also  lost.  Ashley  gives  the 
names  of  the  killed  and  wounded,  but  none  of  them  are  familiar  except 
that  of  Hugh  Glass  who  was  wounded.  It  was  thought  that  only  a 
few,  not  more  than  six  or  eight,  of  the  Indians  were  killed  or  wounded. 
The  shore  party  fought  with  ihe  utmost  bravery  and  coolness,  but  it 
was  impossible  to  withstand  the  terrible  fire  of  the  Indians,  protected  as 
they  were  by  their  cover.  The  voyageurs  proved  themselves  arrant 
cowards. 


k 


SMITH    CARRIES    EXPRESS    TO    HENRY.  269 

ond  attempt  to  pass  without  a  large  reinforcement."  The 
utmost  that  they  would  agree  to  do  was,  that  if  Ashley- 
would  descend  the  river  some  twenty-five  miles,  fortify  his 
camp,  and  take  other  measures  for  their  security,  they  would 
wait  there  until  he  could  receive  aid  from  Henry  or  else- 
where. Ashley  was  compelled  to  accede  to  this  proposi- 
tion, but  when  he  arrived  at  the  designated  point  the  men 
determined  to  go  farther.  Most  of  them  were  resolved  to 
desert.  Ashley  called  for  volunteers,  and  thirty  agreed  to 
remain  —  among  them  only  five  boatmen,  or  voyageurs. 
He  then  transferred  to  one  of  the  keelboats,  the  Ycllozvstone, 
as  much  of  the  property  as  he  could  from  the  other,  and  sent 
the  latter  down  the  river  with  the  seriously  wounded  and 
such  of  the  men  as  would  not  remain,  with  inst'"uctions  to 
store  the  balance  of  the  property  at  the  first  post  below. 
Ashley  sent  word  at  once  to  Major  O' Fallon,  Indian  Agent, 
and  to  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort  Atkinson,  notifying 
them  of  his  disaster,  and  informing  them  that  if  they  would 
send  a  government  force  to  chastise  the  Indians  he  would 
wait  and  co-operate.  In  that  event  he  advised  bringing 
some  artillery. 

Immediately  after  the  battle  Ashley  sent  an  express  to 
Henry.  It  has  already  been  related  how  young  Jedediah  S. 
Smith  volunteered  on  this  perilous  service.  He  made  his 
way  through  successfully,  although  with  some  narrow 
escapes.  Fortunately  Henry  had  returned  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Yellowstone  after  his  own  defeat  by  the  Blackfeet. 
Smith  and  Henry,  with  all  but  twenty  men,  who  were  left 
in  the  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  descended  the 
river,  and  joined  Ashley  near  the  mouth  of  the  Cheyenne 
about  the  2nd  of  July.  Smith  was  sent  on  to  St.  Louis  with 
the  proceeds  of  Henry's  hunt.  His  boat  passed  Fort  Atkin- 
son near  Council  Bluffs  on  the  8th  of  July  and  made  its  way 
safely  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  saw  General  Atkinson,  who 
commanded  the  United  States  troops  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  then  hastened  back  to  join  his  employer. 

In  the  meantime  Ashley  and  Henry,  hardly  believing  that 


270  HENRY    RETURNS    TO    THE    YELLOWSTONE. 

the  military  would  undertake  the  campaign,  or  arrive  before 
fall  if  they  did,  and  not  wishing  to  give  up  their  plans 
entirely,  concluded  to  drop  down  the  river  and  if  possible 
secure  enough  horses  to  equip  the  party  "  intended  to  be  sent 
to  the  Columbia."  They  accordingly  left  their  property 
with  a  portion  of  the  party  and  dropped  down  stream  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Teton  river,  where  they  stopped  for  a  time 
to  procure  horses.  They  then  went  on  to  "  Fort  Bras- 
seaux,"  ^  a  fort  not  elsewhere  mentioned,  but  which  seems  to 
have  been  above,  but  not  far  from,  Fort  Lookout.  Here 
they  learned  to  their  great  satisfaction  of  the  near  approach 
of  the  United  States  troops. 

As  the  campaign  which  followed  is  more  properly  a  part 
of  the  military  history  of  the  period  than  of  the  doings  of 
the  traders,  it  will  be  considered  in  another  place.'^  '^^ 

Immediately  upon  the  close  of  the  Leavenworth  campaigm 
General  Ashley  dispatched  Henry  with  a  party  of  about 
eighty  men  to  carry  out  his  plans  for  the  season,  which  had 
been  so  rudely  interrupted  by  the  Aricaras.  Henry  moved 
across  the  country  in  the  direction  of  the  Yellowstone  river. 
With  him  were  most  of  the  men  whom  Ashley  had  brought 
up,  including  Smith,  Jackson,  Sublette,  Rose,  Bridger.  and 
old  Hugh  Glass,  whose  remarkable  adventure  with  a  grizzly 
bear  ^  on  this  trip  was  the  means  of  preserving  about  all  the 
data  we  now  have  concerning  it. 

The  evil  genius  which  seemed  to  dog  Henry's  footsteps 
in  all  his  mountain  expeditions  and  constantly  harass  him 
with  attacks  from  the  Indians,  did  not  yet  forsake  him. 
On  the  20th  of  August  before  he  was  many  days  out  from 
the  Missouri,  he  was  attacked  by  a  party  of  Indians,  and  lost 
two  men  killed  and  two  wounded.  When  he  reached  the 
post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  he  found  that  twenty- 
two  of  the  horses  he  had  left  there  had  been  stolen  by  the 
Blackfeet  and  Assiniboines.     Soon  afterward  he  lost  seven 

•  See  List  of  Posts,  Appendix  F. 
'Part   III.,   Chapter   III. 

*  See  Part  IV.,  Chapter  VIII. 


DISCOVERY    OF    SOUTH    PASS.  27 1 

more,  when  he  concluded  to  abandon  the  post  and  move  up 
the  Yellowstone  river.  / 

Near  the  mouth  of  the  Powder  river  Henry  fell  in  with 
a  party  of  Crows  from  whom  he  purchased  forty-seven 
horses.  He  then  organized  a  party  which  he  probably 
placed  under  the  charge  of  Etienne  Provost,  and  sent  it 
toward  the  southwest,  while  he  himself  went  on  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Bighorn  river  and  erected  a  post. 

It  was  during  the  autumn  of  1823,  and  the  following 
winter  and  spring  that  the  rich  beaver  country  of  Green 
river  valley,  and  possibly  that  of  Great  Salt  Lake  also,  were 
invaded  by  the  American  traders  for  the  first  time  since  the 
ill-fated  Astorians  passed  through  them.  The  party  dis- 
patched by  Henry  to  the  southwest  is  believed  to  have  been 
the  first  party  of  white  men  to  have  crossed  South  Pass. 
Tradition  among  the  traders  and  trappers  always  ascribed 
the  discovery  of  this  pass  to  Provost,  and  there  is  little  doubt 
of  the  fact ;  but  of  positive  proof  there  is  none.  The  date  of 
discovery  was  probably  late  in  the  fall  of  1823. 

In  the  spring  of  1824  Jedediah  S.  Smith  set  out  on  one  of 
those  expeditions  which  were  so  conspicuous  a  feature  of 
his  career,  and  went  with  a  small  party  across  the  moun- 
tains to  the  headwaters  of  Snake  river.  He  spent  the  sum- 
mer and  fall  in  that  vicinity  and  meanwhile  fell  in  with  a 
small  detached  party  of  Hudson  Bay  trappers.  From  these 
he  obtained  in  some  way  or  other  all  their  catch  of  beaver, 
one  hundred  skins,  and  then  gave  them  the  protection  of  his 
own  party  until  they  should  find  their  leader,  Alexander 
Ross.  The  Hudson  Bay  Company  partisan  was  not  much 
pleased  with  the  way  his  men  had  been  relieved  of  their  fur, 
but  he  was  forced  to  concede  that  the  Americans  were 
"  shrewd  men."  and  that  Smith  in  particular  was  a  "  very 
intelligent  person." 

From  this  point,  which  was  in  the  valley  of  Godin  river 
northwest  of  Snake  river,  and  on  the  outskirts  of  the  great 
lava  plain.  Smith  made  his  way  north  and  is  said  to  have 
passed  the  winter  among  the  Flatheads.     He  visited  one  or 


272  EXIT    ANDREW    HENRY. 

more  posts  of  the  British  company  and  gained  the  first  posi- 
tive information  concerning  operations  in  the  Columbia 
valley  that  had  been  received  since  the  Astorians  left  the 
country. 

Smith  returned  to  St.  Louis  in  the  summer  or  autumn  of 
1824,  and  gave  such  information  as  he  had  gathered  to  Gen- 
eral Atkinson,  who  considered  it  of  so  much  importance  that 
he  embodied  it  in  a  report  to  the  War  Department  in  the 
November  following.  In  this  report  he  refers  to  Smith  as 
"  an  intelligent  young  man  who  was  employed  by  General 
Ashley  beyond  the  Rocky  mountains." 

In  spite  of  the  unfortunate  beginning  of  the  expedition  of 
1823  it  was  on  the  whole  successful.  When  the  detached 
trapping  parties  met  in  the  mountains  in  1824®  they  had 
collected  a  considerable  quantity  of  beaver  fur,  which  Henry 
took  back  to  St.  Louis.  The  results  of  the  expedition  were 
sufficiently  favorable  to  justify  his  immediate  return,  and 
he  left  St.  Louis  on  the  21st  of  October  with  a  new  expe- 
dition for  the  mountains.  This  departure,  strange  to  say, 
is  the  very  last  word  which  we  have  of  Andrew  Henry  in  the 
fur  trade.  He  evidently  did  not  remain  long  in  the  moun- 
tains, but  just  when  he  left,  or  for  what  reason,  is  not 
known.  Jedediah  S.  Smith  took  his  place  and  remained 
Ashley's  partner  until  1826. 

The  doings  of  General  Ashley  from  the  close  of  the 
Aricara  campaign  to  the  return  of  Henry  in  the  fall  of  1824 
are  uncertain.  He  had  a  political  campaign  on  hand,  being 
a  candidate  for  governor  of  Missouri,  and  that  must  have 
absorbed  a  large  part  of  his  time.  James  P.  Beckwourth  in 
his  autobiography  represents  Ashley  as  actively  engaged  in 
equipping  his  expeditions.  He  sent  a  party  in  the  fall  of 
1823  to  collect  horses  among  the  Kansas  and  other  Indians, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1824  set  out  with  an  expedition  for  the 
mountains.  He  had  not  gotten  far  from  the  Missouri  when 
he  was  robbed  of  his  horses  on  the  Platte  by  the  Pawnees, 

•  This  was  the  first  of  the  famous  annual  rendezvous  in  the  moun- 
tains. 


CHANGE    IN    BUSINESS    METHODS.  273 

and  was  compelled  to  postpone  his  expedition  until  fall.  In 
the  meantime  the  election  took  place,  in  August,  and  Ashley- 
was  defeated. 

By  the  fall  of  1824  Ashley's  plan  of  carrying  on  the 
business  had  undergone  a  complete  change.  Clinging  to  the 
past  practice  of  the  traders  he  had  heretofore  undertaken 
to  conduct  his  business,  in  part,  at  least,  from  trading  posts. 
He  had  already  built  two  of  these,  one  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone,  and  one  on  that  river  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Bighorn.  It  was  his  plan  to  build  two  more  on  the  Missouri 
—  one  at  the  mouth  of  the  Marias  and  one  at  Three  Forks. 
But  like  all  his  predecessors  he  failed  to  open  trade  relations 
with  the  Blackfeet,  and  found  that  the  methods  which 
worked  so  well  on  the  lower  river  were  ineffectual  in  the 
mountains.  The  explorations  of  Henry,  Smith,  and  Pro- 
vost in  the  southwest  near  Great  Salt  Lake  had  shown  that 
that  country  abounded  in  beaver.  Finally  the  Missouri  Fur 
Company  was  pushing  its  own  operations  with  great  vigor 
toward  the  head  of  the  Missouri,  and  constituted  a  formida- 
ble competition  in  that  quarter.  These  considerations  led 
Ashley  to  relinquish  the  Missouri  river  valley  altogether  and 
to  carry  his  operations  to  the  other  side  of  the  mountains. 
He  likewise  abandoned  all  efforts  to  conduct  the  trade  from 
fixed  points,  and  relied  only  upon  itinerant  parties  made  up 
mostly  of  trappers.  As  a  consequence  of  this  new  method  it 
became  necessary  to  appoint  some  place  of  meeting  where  the 
various  parties  could  assemble  each  year  with  the  product 
of  their  work.  Hence  arose  the  well-known  rendezvous 
of  the  mountains,  one  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the 
fur  trade.  The  new  system  was,  as  will  be  seen,  eminently 
successful  for  a  season. 

After  the  close  of  Ashley's  unsuccessful  political  cam- 
paign he  devoted  his  time  exclusively  to  his  mountain  busi- 
ness. Shortly  after  Henry's  departure,  October  21,  1824, 
he  himself  set  out  with  a  party  and  arrived  at  Council  Bluffs 
about  the  ist  of  November.  Thence  he  ascended  the  Platte 
river  and  its  South  Fork  until  he  reached  the  mountains. 


274  NAVIGATION    OF    GREEN    RIVER. 

He  then  made  his  way  across  the  country,  probably  some- 
what south  of  the  line  of  the  modern  Union  Pacific  railway, 
until  he  reached  the  valley  of  Green  river.  As  it  was 
already  winter  when  he  arrived  there  he  doubtless  remained 
in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  valley  until  spring. 

The  doings  of  Ashley  and  his  parties  during  the  ensuing 
winter  and  spring  were  of  the  highest  importance  to  his 
business,  and  are  of  much  historic  interest  as  well.  In  the 
spring  of  1825  Ashley  made  the  first  attempt  ever  made  by 
white  men  to  navigate  Green  river.  It  has  been  said  that 
he  thought  that  this  stream  emptied  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
—  an  idea  which  was  generally  accepted  at  the  time.  The 
long  easterly  course  of  the  river  just  south  of  the  Wyoming 
boundary  might  have  led  one  to  suppose  that  its  outlet  was 
to  the  eastward,  and  this  view  was  further  strengthened  by 
the  geographical  information  contained  in  the  report  of 
Lieutenant  Pike,  which  was  at  that  time  the  only  published 
authority  that  touched  upon  the  question.  It  is  not  at  all 
likely,  however,  that  Ashley's  attempt  at  navigating  Green 
river  had  any  other  end  in  view  than  the  exploration  of  new 
territory  for  the  prosecution  of  his  business.  But  whatever 
may  have  been  his  intention,  the  experiment  itself  was  a 
disastrous  one.  He  made  his  perilous  way  through  Brown's 
Hole,  to  the  point  where  the  river  abandons  its  easterly 
course  and  thence  for  a  considerable  distance  to  the  south- 
west, when  his  boat  was  totally  wrecked  in  a  cascade  near 
the  mouth  of  what  is  now  Ashley  river.  Ashley  inscribed 
his  name  on  a  rock  near  by,  and  the  inscription  was  seen  by 
Major  J.  W.  Powell,  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  survey,  forty- 
four  years  afterwards,  when  that  gentleman  was  making  his 
exploration  of  the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado.  Near  the 
same  spot  Powell  found  an  iron  bake  oven,  a  tin  plate,  and 
other  wreckage  which  he  thought  might  have  been  Ashley's, 
but  probably  were  not.^^ 

"  As  a  striking  illustration  of  the  extent  to  which  oblivion  has  ob- 
scured the  events  of  this  time,  the  reference  of  Powell  to  Ashley's  party 
is  particularly  interesting.     The  inscription  which  he  found  was  "  on 


THE    EVANESCENCE    OF    FAME.  275 

Being  now  to  the  south  of  the  Uintah  mountains  and  on 
the  west  bank  of  Green  river,  Ashley  probably  thought  it  bet- 
ter to  make  his  way  to  the  west  and  around  by  Great  Salt 
Lake  then  to  cross  the  rugged  mountains  which  he  had  just 
traversed  through  the  dark  and  precipitous  canons  of  the 
river.  This  may  possibly  have  been  his  intention  from  the 
start.  At  any  event,  after  the  wreck  he  set  out  to  the  west- 
ward, and  shortly  after  had  the  good  luck  to  fall  in  with 
Etienne  Provost,  who  had  made  his  way  into  the  valley  of 
Green  river  by  way  of  Great  Salt  Lake.  While  this  meeting 
may  possibly  have  been  accidental,  it  was  more  probably  a 
part  of  General  Ashley's  comprehensive  plan  of  exploring 
the  country,  and  that  he  had  instructed  Provost  to  make  a 
circuit  and  meet  him  on  the  lower  course  of  Green  river. 

The  united  parties  now  made  their  way  westward  across 

a  high  rock"  and  read  "Ashley  18-5."  The  third  figure  was  illegible, 
but  as  nearly  as  Powell  could  make  out  it  was  3  or  5.  Of  course  it  was 
2,  but  Powell  evidently  believed  it  to  be  5,  as  the  following  comment 
will  show.  "  Though  some  of  his  companions  were  drowned,  Ashley 
and  one  other  survived  the  wreck,  climbed  the  canon  wall,  and  found 
their  way  across  the  Wasatch  mountains  to  Salt  Lake  City,  living  chiefly 
on  berries,  as  they  wandered  through  an  unknown  and  difficult  country. 
When  they  arrived  at  Salt  Lake  they  were  almost  destitute  of  clothing 
and  nearly  starved.  The  Mormon  people  gave  them  food  and  clothing 
and  employed  them  to  work  on  the  foundation  of  the  Temple  until  they 
had  earned  sufficient  to  leave  the  country.  Of  their  subsequent 
history  I  have  no  knowledge.  It  is  possible  that  they  returned  to  the 
scene  of  the  disaster,  as  a  little  creek  entering  the  stream  below  is  known 
as  Ashley's  creek,  and  it  is  reported  that  he  built  a  cabin  and  trapped 
on  this  river  for  one  or  two  winters." 

Speaking  of  the  evanescence  of  fame,  here  is  indeed  an  example.  Lit- 
tle did  Ashley  imagine  that  his  romantic  adventures,  so  celebrated  in 
their  day,  and  himself  one  of  the  leading  public  men  of  the  West,  would 
be  so  far  forgotten  in  two  score  years  that  he  would  be  referred  to  in  a 
government  report  of  high  authority  as  an  obscure  hunter  on  whom  the 
Mormons  (so  hated  in  Missouri  in  his  time)  took  compassion  and  set 
to  work  on  their  Temple  thirty  years  after  he  was  in  their  country !  Sic 
transit  gloria  iiiundi! 

In  reference  to  Ashley's  shipwreck  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  James  P. 
Beckwourth  claims  the  credit  of  having  rescued  the  General  from 
drowning. 


2/6  MASSACRE    OF    PROVOST's    PARTY. 

the  Wasatch  mountains  into  the  Salt  Lake  valley.  This 
was  already  familiar  ground  to  Provost,  who  had  been  there 
the  year  before  and  had  suffered  a  disaster  equal  to  that  of 
Ashley  at  the  Aricara  villages.  On  the  shore  of  Utah  Lake, 
where  that  tributary  enters  which  now  bears  the  name 
(abbreviated)  of  Etienne  Provost,  this  capable  frontiersman 
was  for  once  completely  deceived  by  the  Indians.  He  had 
fallen  in  with  a  band  of  Snake  Indians  under  an  evil-minded 
chief,  Mauvais  Gauche,  and  was  invited  to  smoke  the  calu- 
met of  peace  with  them.  The  chief  said  that  it  was  con- 
trary to  his  medicine  to  have  anything  of  a  metallic  character 
near  by  while  the  ceremony  was  going  on,  and  requested  that 
both  parties  should  remove  their  weapons  to  a  distance. 
Provost  yielded  to  the  chief's  importunity,  for  he  had  learned 
that  on  the  whole  it  was  better  to  humor  the  superstitious 
whims  of  the  Indians.  Himself  and  his  men  placed  their 
guns  to  one  side,  and  sat  down  in  the  circle  to  smoke  In 
the  riiidst  of  the  ceremony  the  Indians  sprang  up  at  a  pre- 
concerted signal  and  fell  upon  the  whites  with  knives  and 
tomahawks  which  they  had  kept  concealed  within  their 
clothing.  Most  of  the  men  were  killed.  Provost,  who  was 
a  powerful  and  athletic  man,  extricated  himself  from  his 
assailants,  and  with  three  or  four  others  made  his  escape. 
This  terrible  event,  which  has  few  parallels  in  the  history  of 
the  American  Indians,  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the 
mountain  men.  They  vowed  vengeance  upon  the  faithless 
chief,  but  that  wily  savage  eluded  their  search  and  had  not 
been  caught  as  late  as  1834.  This  was  one  of  the  very 
few  instances  of  hostility  between  the  Snakes  and  the 
whites.  ^^ 

It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Ashley  made  his  explorations 
south  of  Great  Salt  Lake.  He  went  as  far  as  Sevier  Lake, 
which  was  then  given  the  name  of  Ashley  Lake.     Historians 

"This  account,  which  is  from  Ferris'  Life  in  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
states  that  fifteen  men  were  killed.  Page  283,  Letter  book,  Superintend- 
ency  of  Indian  affairs,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  now  in  possession  of  the  Kansas 
Historical  Society,  Rives  the  numher  as  17,  and  happily  confirms  the 
event  on  the  authority  of  Smith,  Jackson  and  Sublette. 


■M' 


OGDEN    RELIEVED    OF    HIS    FUR.  277 

have  generally  supposed  that  it  was  Utah  Lake  which  was 
temporarily  honored  with  the  General's  name,  but  this  is  not 
the  case.  It  was  on  the  shores  of  either  Utah  or  Sevier  Lake 
that  the  trading  post  stood  which  Ashley  is  said  to  have 

Havmg  completed  these  explorations  Ashley  and  Provost 
turned  north  en  route  to  the  annual  rendezvous  in  the  valley 
of  Green  river.  At  some  point  north  of  Great  Salt  Lake, 
and  possibly  in  the  beautiful  mountain  park  known  as  Cache 
Valley,  an  event  took  place  which  marked  the  turning  point 
in  Ashley's  fortunes.  There  was  in  this  neighborhood  at 
the  time  a  party  of  Hudson  Bay  trappers  under  the  leader- 
ship of  the  well-known  trader,  Peter  Skeen  Ogden.  They 
were  in  possession  of  a  large  quantity  of  beaver  fur  various- 
ly estimated  at  from  seventy  to  two  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars' worth.  These  furs,  through  some  transaction  now  not 
positively  known,  came  into  Ashley's  possession  at  an  insig- 
nificant price  —  some  say  by  looting  a  cache  in  which  they 
were  concealed,  and  some  by  voluntary  sale  to  Ashley  by 
Ogden  to  relieve  the  latter's  necessities.^^    Be  that  as  it  may, 

"  See  list  of  posts,  Appendix  F. 

"  Common  tradition  among  the  traders,  which  has  even  survived  to 
the  present  time,  says  that  Ashley  and  Provost  accidentally  came  upon 
a  cache  of  Ogden's  fur,  and  not  feeling  very  well  disposed  toward  the 
British  on  general  principles,  nor  believing  that  they  had  any  business 
in  this  quarter,  promptly  confiscated  the  fur.  One  authority  says  that 
Ogden  was  in  great  straits  for  some  cause  or  other,  and  that  he 
sold  out  to  Ashley  for  a  mere  nominal  sum  in  order  to  relieve  his 
necessities.  Wyeth  says  (Sources  of  tlie  History  of  Oregon,  vol.  I., 
p.  74)  that  a  "  Mr.  Gardner,  one  of  his  [Ashley's]  agents,  met  a  Mr. 
Ogden,  clerk  of  the  H.  B.  Co.  in  the  Snake  country  at  the  head  of  a 
trapping  party.  Gardner  induced  the  men  of  Ogden's  party  to  desert 
by  promises  of  supplies  and  good  prices  for  furs.  The  furs  thus  ob- 
tained amounted  to  about  130  packs,  or  13,000  pounds,  worth  at  that 
time  about  $75,000."  Beckwourth  says  that  the  furs  cost  Ashley  "  com- 
paratively little."  Audubon  quotes  Ashley  as  saying  that  the  disaster  at 
the  Aricara  villages  "  proved  fortunate  for  him  as  it  turned  his  steps 
toward  some  other  spot  where  he  procured  a  hundred  packs  of  beaver 
skins  for  a  mere  song." 

Of  the  main  fact  therefore  there  is  no  room  for  doubt :  but  the  exact 


278  ASHLEY    MEETS    ATKINSON    AND    o'fALLON. 

the  event  was  an  important  one  to  Ashley.     He  is  said  to         * 
have  been  deeply  involved  in  debt  at  that  time,  owing  to  his 
repeated  disasters ;   but  the  returns  of  this  year  enabled  him 
to  pay  off  his  debts  and  lay  the  foundations  of  a  goodly 
fortune. 

After  the  summer  rendezvous,  which  took  place  in  the 
valley  of  Green  river,  Ashley  set  out  with  his  furs  for  St. 
Louis.  Upon  Provost's  advice  he  went  by  way  of  South 
Pass  to  the  Bighorn  river,  where  he  constructed  bullboats 
and  descended  that  stream  and  the  Yellowstone  to  the 
Missouri.  There  he  saw  for  the  first  time  the  fort,  now  in 
ruins,  that  Henry  had  built  two  years  before.  He  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  on  the  19th  of  August.  Here 
by  a  most  fortunate  coincidence  he  met  General  Atkinson 
and  Major  O'Fallon,  who  had  arrived  two  days  before  with 
a  large  military  force  on  a!i  official  expedition  to  the  various 
tribes  of  the  Missouri.  General  Atkinson  offered  Ashley 
safe  convoy  for  his  furs  to  Council  Bluffs  if  he  would  await 
the  return  of  the  expedition.  Ashley  accepted  and  accom- 
panied the  General  on  an  excursion  up  the  river  in  search 
of  the  Black  feet  and  Assiniboines.  They  returned  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  August  26th,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing morning  the  whole  party  set  out  down  the  river.  No 
incident  of  importance  occurred  on  the  home  journey  except 
that  one  of  the  keelboats  loaded  with  Ashley's  furs  was 
wrecked  on  a  snag  near  the  mouth  of  James  river,  Dakota; 
the  boat  and  all  its  cargo  were  saved.  Council  Bluffs  was 
reached  on  the  19th  of  September.  Ashley  at  this  point 
parted  with  the  military  and  after  three  days'  rest,  resumed 
his  way  down  the  river.  He  passed  Franklin  about  the 
I  St  of  October,  and  probably  reached  St.  Louis  by  the  8th. 
From  St.  Charles  he  sent  a  messenger  across  the  country  to 

details  will  probably  remain  unknown  until  the  world  hears  from  Mr. 
Ogden  through  the  records  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  That  Ogden 
should  voluntarily  have  disposed  of  his  furs  at  all,  and  particularly  at  a 
nominal  price  to  an  American  rival,  is  scarcely  credible  to  one  who 
knows  anything  of  the  business  methods  of  the  British  companies. 


ASHLEY    SELLS    OUT.  2^9 

notify  Wahrendorff  and  Tracy,  his  backers,  of  his  great 
success. 

On  the  26th  of  October  Ashley  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza 
Christy,  and  four  days  later  dispatched  a  party  of  seventy 
men  to  the  mountains.  Beckwourth,  who  had  returned  with 
Ashley,  accompanied  this  party.  He  says  that  on  this  trip 
he  took  the  North  Fork  of  the  Platte  and  went  by  way  of 
South  Pass,  thus  striking  Green  river  much  higher  than  the 
year  before.  Ashley  remained  in  St.  Louis  during  the 
winter. 

The  rendezvous  for  1826  was  fixed  in  Cache  valley  north 
of  Great  Salt  Lake  in  the  present  state  of  Utah.  Ashley  set 
out  for  the  mountains  with  another  party  on  the  8th  of 
March,  1826,  and  is  presumed  to  have  followed  the  route 
of  the  North  Platte  and  South  Pass.  On  this  trip  he  took 
a  six-pounder  wheeled  cannon  through  to  Utah  Lake  and 
installed  it  in  his  post  there.  ^^  This  was  the  first  wheeled 
vehicle  of  any  description  that  crossed  the  plains  north  of 
the  Santa  Fe  route. 

This  was  the  last  journey  that  Ashley  made  to  the  moun- 
tains. He  evidently  had  no  great  love  for  mountain  life  and 
was  ambitious  of  political  success.  He  looked  to  the  moim- 
tains  mainly  for  a  fortune,  and  having  now  secured  that  he 
resolved  to  abandon  further  personal  conduct  of  affairs  there. 
This  he  could  do  without  relinquishing  his  interest  in  the 
business.  He  had  developed  some  of  the  ablest  spirits  of 
the  fur  trade,  men  of  the  highest  worth,  who  later  figured 
prominently  in  the  history  of  the  West.  H  he  could  turn 
over  his  affairs  in  the  mountains  to  them,  and  himself  con- 
duct the  St.  Louis  end  of  the  business,  it  would  be  more 
to  his  own  liking,  and  give  these  young  men  a  start  in  their 
own  names.  Accordingly  he  made  propositions  to  the  ablest 
and  most  experienced  of  his  lieutenants,  Jedediah  S.  Smith, 
David  E.  Jackson,  and  William  L.  Sublette,  and  on  the  i8th 

"  All  references  to  this  event  by  historians  place  it  in  the  year  1826, 
but  Ashley  himself  says  it  was  in  1827,  although  he  did  not  go  to  the 
mountains  after  1826. 


28o         DEFECTION  OF  ETIENNE  PROVOST. 

day  of  July,  1826,  articles  of  agreement  were  made  and 
signed  "  near  the  Grand  Lake  west  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
.tains."  This  instrument,  which  is  still  in  existence,  ^^  con- 
stituted the  firm  of  Smith,  Jackson  and  Sublette,  and  marks 
the  beginning  of  the  second  period  in  the  history  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company.  The  agreement  is  prin- 
cipally confined  to  prices  of  goods,  and  to  arrangements  by 
which  Ashley  is  to  supply  the  firm  with  merchandise  and 
to  dispose  of  their  furs.  It  also  stipulated  that  Ashley 
was  not  to  furnish  any  other  company  with  merchandise 
so  long  as  it  continued  in  force. 

Having  completed  his  arrangements  Ashley  returned  to 
St.  Louis  where  he  arrived  on  the  9th  of  September  with  one 
hundred  and  twenty-three  packs  of  beaver.  Beckwourth 
gives  the  very  probable  story  that  upon  leaving  the  moun- 
tains Ashley  made  an  affectionate  farewell  to  his  men, 
thanking  them  for  their  loyalty  to  his  business  and  wishing 
them  equal  success  in  their  own  undertakings. 

There  was  one  man,  however,  who  did  not  reciprocate 
the  General's  expressions  of  good  will.  This  was  Etienne 
Provost,  the  veteran  mountaineer,  who  had  first  penetrated 
to  the  region  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  For  some  reason  he 
had  fallen  out  with  Ashley,  possibly  from  not  being  included 
in  the  new  business  arrangement.  He  forthwith  set  out  for 
St.  Louis,  arriving  there  ahead  of  Ashley,  and  entered  into 
negotiations  with  Bernard  Pratte  and  Company  by  which 
he  was  to  conduct  a  rival  expedition  to  the  mountains  in 
the  following  year.  Ashley,  upon  his  arrival,  nipped  this 
opposition  in  the  bud  by  himself  offering  Bernard  Pratte  and 
Company  a  share  in  his  next  expedition  to  the  mountains. 
He  agreed  to  accompany  it  himself  and  was  to  receive  a  high 
salary  for  this  service,  besides  his  share  in  the  venture. 

In  the  following  April  Ashley  set  out  for  the  mountains 
but  was  taken  sick  on  the  frontier  and  compelled  to  return, 
leaving  the  party  in  other  hands.     In  September  following, 

"  In  the  possession  of  M.  L.  Gray  of  St.  Louis.    For  facsimile  of  sig- 
nature see  opposite  this  page. 


t^ 


EFFECT   OF   ASHLEY's    SUCCESS.  281 

when  he  judged  that  the  return  expedition  must  be  near  the'X/ 
frontier  he  left  St.  Louis  to  meet  it.  He  returned  on  Octo-/  ) 
ber  15th  with  one  hundred  and  thirty  packs  of  beaven 
Smith,  Jackson  and  Sublette  had  been  able  to  pay  off  their 
indebtedness  to  Ashley  and  to  lay  the  foundations  of  com- 
fortable fortunes  for  themselves,  while  the  net  profits  of  the 
summer's  expedition  to  Ashley  and  to  Bernard  Pratte  and 
Company  was  seventy  per  cent. 

The  brilliant  success  of  General  Ashley  fairly  dazed  the 
staid  authorities  on  the  fur  trade  in  St.  Louis,  and  disturbed 
not  a  little  the  equanimity  of  the  great  American  Fur  Com- 
pany in  New  York.  The  correspondence  of  the  traders  at 
this  time  shows  how  completely  Ashley  had  fired  the  minds 
of  every  one  with  visions  of  wealth  no  less  real  than  if  he 
had  discovered  mines  of  gold.^'^  And  there  was  much  rea- 
son for  it.  He  had  brought  down  in  1824  one  hundred 
packs,  in  1826  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  packs,  in  1827 
one  hundred  and  thirty  packs.  If  we  add  reasonable  returns 
for  the  years  1823  and  1824,  he  must  have  brought  in 
something  like  five  hundred  packs  of  beaver,  worth  in  St. 
Louis  over  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars.  After  deducting 
the  cost  of  the  expedition,  and  all  losses,  there  still  remained 
what  at  that  period  was  an  ample  fortune  for  those  en- 
gaged in  the  enterprise.  Ashley  had  acquired  a  reputation 
as  an  authority  on  the  Western  fur  trade  that  never  after- 
ward deserted  him  and  in  his  subsequent  career  in  Congress 
he  was  looked  to  as  much  as  was  Senator  Benton  for  infor- 
mation upon  all  measures  relating  to  the  West. 

"An  interesting  example  is  found  in  two  letters  written  almost 
exactly  a  year  apart  by  Mr.  Bostwick,  agent  of  the  American  Fur  Co., 
to  parties  in  New  York.  October  5,  1825,  he  wrote:  "Gen.  Ashley 
arrived  here  yesterday  with  (as  rumor  says)  100  packs  of  Rocky 
Mountain  beaver  weighing  9,700  pounds.  There  is  no  doubt  of  the  fact. 
It  is  said  to  be  of  fine  quality." 

And  September  21,  1826:  "Fortune  has  again  smiled  upon  the  enter- 
prise of  General  Ashley.  He  is  within  a  few  days'  march  of  this  place 
with  123  packs  of  beaver.  There  is  no  doubt  of  the  truth  of  this  report ; 
it  was  brought  by  some  men  who  came  from  the  mountains  with  him." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN   FUR  COMPANY. 
ADVENTURES  OF  JEDEDIAH   S.   SMITH. 

Smith's  love  of  exploration  —  Starts  for  California  —  Trouble  with 
Spanish  authorities  —  Spends  winter  in  California  —  Leaving  party  in 
California  Smith  returns  to  Salt  Lake  —  Departs  again  for  California  — 
Party  attacked  by  the  Mojaves  —  Renewed  difficulties  with  Spanish  au- 
thorities—  Spends  winter  on  American  Fork  —  Massacre  of  his  party  on 
the  Umpquah  —  The  Hudson  Bay  Company  recovers  Smith's  property 
and  pays  him  for  it  —  Smith  leaves  Fort  Vancouver  to  rejoin  his  part- 
ners —  Meeting  of  the  partners. 

HE  doings  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  while 
under  the  firm  name  of  Smith,  Jackson  and  Sublette, 
find  their  chief  interest  in  the  adventures  of  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  firm.  Smith  seems  to  have  been  in  every  way  a 
remarkable  man,  A  Christian  and  a  soldier,  the  Bible  and 
the  rifle  were  his  inseparable  companions,  and  the  mild 
teachings  of  the  one  never  diminished  in  any  way  the  vigor 
with  which  he  used  the  other.  The  new  West  captivated  his 
mind  with  its  opportunities  for  adventure  and  he  made  the 
most  of  them  during  the  ten  years  before  his  untimely  death. 

Immediately  upon  the  conclusion  of  tlie  business  transac- 
tions of  1826  in  which  Ashley  sold  out  to  Smith,  Jackson 
and  Sublette,  Smith  set  out  on  those  long-  and  perilous  expe- 
ditions which  absorbed  his  time  for  the  next  three  years. 
Fortunately  we  have  his  own  account  of  both  of  his  Califor- 
nia visits,  which,  with  numerous  sidelights,  enable  us  to 
present  a  complete  narrative  of  his  wanderings.^ 

On  the  22nd  of  August,  1826,  Smith  left  the  rendezvous 

*  See  letter  from  Smith  to  General  Clark,  written  at  Great  Salt  Lake 
in  the  summer  of  1827  and  published  in  the  Missouri  Republican  Octo- 


SMITH    GOES    TO    CALIFORNIA.  283 

near  Great  Salt  Lake  with  a  party  of  fifteen  men  for  the 
purpose  of  exploring  the  country  to  the  southwest,  then 
wholly  unknown  to  the  American  traders.  His  route  lay  by 
Utah  Lake,  thence  across  the  Sevier  valley  to  the  Virgin 
river, ^  which  he  descended  to  the  Colorado.  Nothing  of 
importance  transpired  on  this  part  of  his  route  except  the 
discovery  of  a  remarkable  salt  cave  on  the  Virgin  two  days' 
march  above  its  mouth.  Smith  crossed  to  the  east  bank  of 
the  Colorado  and  followed  down  the  stream  until  he  came 
upon  the  Mojave  Indians  with  whom  he  remained  fifteen 
days  to  recruit  his  stock  of  horses.  Recrossing  the  Colo- 
rado at  the  end  of  this  time  he  pursued  a  westerly  course, 
with  great  hardship  and  suffering,  across  the  barren  and 
desolate  wastes  of  southern  California,  and  arrived  at  San 
Diego,  probably  about  the  middle  of  October. 

In  California  Smith's  principal  difficulties  were  with  the 
Spanish  authorities,  who  viewed  his  presence  there  with  sus- 
picion, and  hampered  his  movements  by  their  arbitrary 
requirements.  Through  the  interposition  of  Captain  W.  H. 
Cunningham  of  the  Courier,  of  Boston,  he  obtained  permis- 
sion to  purchase  the  supplies  he  needed  and  also  to  return 
by  the  route  he  had  come.  Smith  was  not  disposed  to  leave 
at  once  a  country  which  he  had  come  so  far  to  see,  and  mov- 
ing back  from  the  coast  he  turned  northwest  and  traveled 

ber  II,  1827;  a  letter  from  Captain  Cunningham  of  the  ship  Courier 
from  Boston,  dated  San  Diego,  December,  1826,  and  published  in  the 
Missouri  Republican  October  25,  1827 ;  and  an  account  of  Smith's  sec- 
ond expedition  to  California  in  the  letter  book  of  Indian  Affairs,  Su- 
perintendency  of  St.  Louis  under  General  Clark,  now  in  possession  of 
the  Kansas  Historical  Society  at  Topeka,  Kansas.  There  are  also  nu- 
merous briefer  references  here  and  there.  Bancroft  has  worked  up  in 
considerable  detail  the  doings  of  the  Americans  in  California  during 
those  early  days,  and  as  this  territory  is  outside  the  scope  of  this  work, 
they  will  not  be  touched  upon  farther  than  necessary  to  show  when  and 
where   Smith  was  during  his  wanderings. 

'^  Smith  named  this  stream  Adams  river  in  honor  of  the  President.  I 
am  inclined  to  think  that  its  present  name  was  given  for  Thomas  Virgin 
who  was  with  Smith  in  1827,  and  was  severely  wounded  by  the  Indians 
in  this  locality,  and  afterward  killed  in  the  fight  on  Umpquah  river. 


284  RETURNS  TO  GREAT  SALT  LAKE. 

some  three  hundred  miles  parallel  with  the  coast,  and  at  a 
distance  from  it  which  he  estimated  at  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
miles.  He  spent  a  good  part  of  the  winter  on  this  journey 
and  turned  it  to  advantage  in  trapping.  Spring  found  him 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  headwaters  of  the  San  Joaquin  and 
Merced  rivers. 

Early  in  May  he  attempted  to  take  his  party  across  Mt. 
Joseph,  as  he  called  the  high  range  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
mountains,  in  order  to  return  to  the  summer  rendezvous  of 
1827  near  Salt  Lake;  but  the  deep  snows  baffled  his  efforts. 
He  then  decided  to  leave  most  of  his  men  in  California  while 
he  should  go  to  the  rendezvous  and  return  for  them  in  the 
fall.  With  two  men,  seven  horses,  and  two  mules  laden 
with  provisions  and  forage,  he  set  out  on  his  perilous  jour- 
ney May  20,  1827.  In  eight  days  he  succeeded  in  crossing 
the  mountains  with  a  loss  of  only  two  horses  and  one  mule, 
the  deep  snow  being  hard  enough  to  sustain  the  weight  of  the 
animals.  Twenty  days  more  took  him  to  the  southwestern 
extremity  of  Great  Salt  Lake  along  the  western  shore  of 
which  he  then  bent  his  course.  He  reached  the  rendezvous 
by  the  middle  of  June.  The  sufferings  of  the  party  in 
crossing  the  Salt  Lake  desert  were  terrible,  and  only  two 
of  the  animals  survived  the  journey. 

There  is  no  clue  given  in  Smith's  account  as  to  the  route 
followed,  but  it  was  certainly  far  south  of  the  Humboldt 
river.  He  probably  crossed  the  range  near  Sonora  Pass, 
going  north  of  Mono  Lake  and  south  of  Walker  Lake.  He 
saw  no  lakes,  but  noted  a  stream  flowing  north,  which  was 
probably  Walker  river. 

Immediately  after  the  rendezvous.  Smith  set  out,  July 
13,  with  a  small  party  of  eighteen  men  to  return  to  Califor- 
nia and  bring  back  the  men  he  had  left  there.  He  followed 
the  route  of  the  previous  year  and  went  direct  to  the  Mojave 
Indians.  Unfortunately,  since  his  previous  visit,  the  jealous 
Spaniard  had  been  there  and  had  warned  the  Mojaves  not 
to  permit  any  more  Americans  to  pass  that  way.  Smith 
was  ignorant  of  this,  and  counting  on  their  former  friendly 


TROUBLE    WITH    THE    SPANIARDS.  285 

disposition,  was  somewhat  off  his  guard.  Upon  his  depart- 
ure from  the  village,  and  while  in  the  act  of  crossing  the 
river  on  a  raft,  the  Indians  fell  upon  the  party,  killing  ten 
men  and  capturing  all  the  property  and  papers.  This  was; 
in  the  month  of  August. 

Smith  now  made  his  way  with  intense  suffering  and 
great  peril  to  the  Spanish  settlements,  which  he  reached  at 
San  Gabriel  in  nine  and  one-half  days.  Here  he  left  two 
wounded  men,  and  himself  started  north  to  join  his  party. 

Two  Indian  guides  whom  Smith  had  secured  to  conduct 
him  into  southern  California  were  seized  by  the  authorities. 
One  died  under  harsh  treatment,  and  the  other  was  sen- 
tenced to  death.  One  of  the  wounded  men,  Thomas  Virgin, 
who  had  been  left  at  San  Gabriel,  was  taken  to  San  Diego 
and  thrown  into  prison,  but  was  finally  released  and  sent  to 
join  Smith. 

Upon  arriving  at  the  San  Jose  mission.  Smith  sought 
permission  to  visit  the  governor  at  Monterey,  but  the  request 
was  denied,  and  he  was  thrown  into  prison.  Presently  he 
was  sent  under  guard  to  Monterey,  where  he  encountered 
almost  hopeless  difficulties  with  the  equivocating  governor. 
Finally,  sometime  in  November,  through  the  intercession  of 
the  master  of  an  American  vessel,  he  was  given  permission 
to  depart,  after  purchasing  the  necessary  supplies,  and  was 
enjoined  that  he  must  leave  Mexican  territory. 

The  authorities  refused  to  let  Smith  augment  his  party, 
although  there  were  several  Englishmen  and  Americans  on 
the  coast  who  wanted  to  join  him.  He  left  with  a  party  of 
twenty  men,  two  of  whom  soon  deserted.^  Two  months 
was  the  period  fixed  within  which  he  must  depart  from 

^  In  the  party  of  1826  were  fifteen  men  of  whom  Smith  left  thirteen 
when  he  returned  to  rendezvous  in  the  summer  of  1827.  He  started 
back  to  California  with  eighteen  men  of  whom  he  lost  ten  at  the  hands 
of  the  Mojaves,  thus  leaving  "eight,  which  with  the  thirteen  already 
in  California  would  make  the  twenty-one  with  whom  he  set  out  to  return 
in  December,  1827.  This,  however,  supposes  that  there  were  no  other 
losses  than  those  mentioned,  a  rather  improbable  supposition,  and 
Smith  may  have  succeeded  in  procuring  recruits. 


286  THE    UMPQUAH    MASSACRE. 

Spanish  territory,  and  the  general  route  which  he  must  fol- 
low was  designated  by  the  authorities.  It  so  happened  that 
this  route  would  take  him  across  the  Buenaventura  (Sacra- 
mento) river,  which  was  then  impassable  from  high  water. 
Smith  accordingly  took  the  matter  into  his  own  hands,  and 
resolved  to  pass  the  winter  in  that  neighborhood.  He  fol- 
lowed slowly  up  the  course  of  the  river  to  its  principal  fork, 
where  he  passed  several  months.  From  this  circumstance 
the  stream  came  to  be  known  as  American  Fork.  On  the 
13th  of  April,  1828,  Smith  set  out  in  a  northwest  direction. 
After  reaching  the  coast  he  turned  north  and  kept  on  with- 
out noteworthy  incident  until  he  reached  the  Umpquah 
river.  His  party  did  a  good  deal  of  trapping  on  the  way, 
and  by  this  time  had  secured  a  large  quantity  of  fur.  On 
the  14th  of  July  Smith  left  the  party  in  camp  and  went  out 
alone  to  search  for  a  road.  On  his  way  back  he  was  fired 
on  by  some  Indians,  and  although  he  escaped  it  was  only  to 
find  his  camp  and  all  the  property  in  the  hands  of  the  sav- 
ages. Fifteen  of  his  men  were  killed,  and  only  three, 
including  a  Mr.  Black,  escaped.^  The  survivors  had  fled 
north,  and  Smith  was  left  entirely  alone.  He  made  his  way 
in  a  state  of  utter  destitution  to  Fort  Vancouver,  on  the 
Columbia,  where  he  found  his  companions.  The  Hudson 
Bay  Company  authorities  received  him  with  every  consid- 
eration of  generosity,  and  even  sent  a  force  under  Thomas 
McKay  to  punish  the  Indians  and  to  recover  his  property. 
They  succeeded  in  getting  nearly  all  of  it.  Doctor  Mc- 
Loughlin  charged  for  this  service  only  the  value  of  the  men's 
time  at  the  rate  of  sixty  dollars  a  year  and  four  dollars 
apiece  for  such  horses  as  were  lost  on  the  trip.  He  pur- 
chased Smith's  furs,  amounting  to  about  $20,000  worth,  at 
the  market  price,  giving  him  a  draft  on  London  in  payment. 

*  Smith  says  that  only  Mr.  Black  escaped,  but  all  other  authorities, 
including  particularly  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  the  Hudson  Bay  factor  at 
Fort  Vancouver,  say  three  besides  Smith.  This  is  probably  correct, 
for  Smith's  party  which  numbered  2t  when  it  started  from  near  San 
Francisco,  and  lost  2  by  desertion,  must  have  numbered  19  on  the  Ump- 
quah.    The  number  15  lost  checks  with  the  4  escaped. 


SMITH    REJOINS    HIS    PARTNERS.  287 

Smith  remained  at  Vancouver  until  March  12,  1829, 
when  he  set  out  for  the  East  to  rejoin  his  partners.  He 
ascended  the  Cokimbia,  and  followed  the  British  fur  traders' 
route  to  their  post  among  the  Flatheads,  which  Smith  had 
visited  in  1824.  Thence  he  and  his  man  Black  started 
south  for  Snake  river.  On  his  way  he  met  Jackson,  who 
was  looking  for  him,  and  a  little  later  found  Sublette,  "  on 
the  5th  of  August,  1829,  at  the  Tetons  on  Henry  Fork,  the 
south  branch  of  the  Columbia." 

Such  is  the  simple  statement  as  given  by  Smith  himself 
of  his  three  years'  explorations.  Much  has  been  written 
about  them,  mostly  imaginary,  and  many  are  the  reputed 
heroic  exploits  connected  with  them.  That  the  expeditions 
were  full  of  romantic  interest  and  thrilling  adventure  can 
not  be  doubted ;  nor  that  the  little  parties,  and  particularly 
their  leader,  endured  great  hardship  and  privations.  The 
important  results  of  Smith's  work  in  the  cause  of  geograph- 
ical discovery  will  be  considered  in  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  ROCKY   MOUNTAIN   FUR   COMPANY. 
ITS  LATER  HISTORY. 

Operations  of  Sublette  and  Jackson  during  Smith's  absence  —  Meet- 
ing with  Smith  —  Plan  of  operations  —  Attacked  by  the  Blackfeet  — 
Trappers  assemble  on  Wind  river  —  Sublette  goes  to  St.  Louis  —  The 
spring  hunt  of  1830  —  Sublette's  journey  from  the  states  —  Rendezvous 
of  1830  —  Change  in  business  management  —  Extinction  of  the  firm  of 
Smith,  Jackson  and  Sublette  —  Fall  hunt  of  1830  —  Fitzpatrick  and  Og- 
den  —  Winter  encampment  on  Powder  river  —  Spring  hunt  of  1831  — 
Fitzpatrick  goes  to  St.  Louis  and  thence  to  Santa  Fe  —  Fitzpatrick  fails 
to  appear  at  Green  river  rendezvous  —  Partners  meet  in  Powder  river 
valley  —  Opposition  of  the  American  Fur  Company  —  Fitzpatrick  and 
Bridger  go  to  head  of  Snake  river  —  Partners  move  south  to  Bear 
river  —  Vanderburgh  and  Drips  appear  —  Rendezvous  at  Pierre's  Hole 
—  Fitzpatrick  goes  after  Sublette  —  His  adventures  on  his  way  back  — 
Sublette  reaches  the  rendezvous  —  Battle  of  Pierre's  Hole  —  Small  part) 
leaves  Pierre's  Hole  —  Attacked  by  Blackfeet  —  Break-up  of  the  ren- 
dezvous —  Change  in  the  mountain  trade  —  Fatal  results  of  businesa 
rivalry  —  Rendezvous  of  1833  on  Green  river  —  Campbell,  Sublette  and 
Wyeth  set  out  for  St.  Louis  via  the  Bighorn  river  —  Robbery  of  Fitzpat- 
rick and,  Wyeth  —  Deplorable  state  of  trade  in  the  mountains  —  Rendez- 
vous of  1834  —  Dissolution  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company^ 
Review  of  its  work  —  Albert  Gallatin's  map. 

^T'HE  whereabouts  of  Jackson  and  Sublette  during  Smith's 
^^  absence  are  not  fully  recorded.  At  the  rendezvous  of 
1827  they  agreed  with  Smith  -to  meet  him  at  the  head  of 
Snake  river  in  the  summer  K)f  1829,  and  in  the  meanwhile 
they  continued  the  business  as  before,  going  annually  to  St. 
Louis  with  the  furs.  In  the  summer  of  1828  Sublette  went 
to  St.  Louis  alone,  while  Jackson  remained  in  the  mountains 
during  the  winter.     In  the  spring  of  1829  Sublette  returned 


JACKSON    HOLE    AND    PIERRE'S    HOLE.  289 

with  a  large  party  and  outfit  of  merchandise.  The  rendez- 
vous for  this  year  was  fixed  on  the  Popo  Agie  river  which 
enters  Wind  river  near  the  point  where  the  latter  stream 
turns  from  its  southeast  course  to  the  north.  Forty-two 
packs  of  furs  were  collected  here  and  sent  back  to  St.  Louis, 
arriving  there  September  5th.  Milton  G.  Sublette  was  then 
dispatched  with  a  well-appointed  outfit  to  work  up  the 
country  along  the  Bighorn  river,  while  William  L.  Sublette 
went  on  to  the  beautiful  valley  of  Snake  river  at  the  eastern 
base  of  the  Teton  mountains,  where  he  expected  to  meet 
Smith  and  Jackson.  Here  he  found  Jackson,  who  had  been 
there  for  some  time,  and  had  perhaps  wintered  there,  and  it 
is  most  likely  from  this  date  that  the  name  Jackson  Hole 
came  to  be  applied  to  the  valley.^  As  Smith  failed  to  put 
in  an  appearance,  the  partners  set  out  to  find  him.  They 
crossed  the  mountains  into  Pierre's  Hole  and  Sublette 
remained  in  the  vicinity  of  Henry  Fork,  while  Jackson 
started  in  the  direction  of  the  Flathead  country,  thinking 
that  Smith  might  be  returning  by  that  route.  He  was  right 
in  this  conjecture,  and  soon  after  fell  in  with  Smith  and 
Black.  The  two  partners  then  started  for  Sublette's  camp, 
where  th^  arrived,  as  already  narrated,  August  5th,  1829. 
This  was  perhaps  the  first  time  that  the  beautiful  valley  of 
Pierre's  Hole  came  prominently  to  the  notice  of  American 
traders. 

The  united  parties  remained  in  Pierre's  Hole  some  time 
before  commencing  their  fall  hunt.  In  spite  of  Smith's 
rough  experiences  and  his  several  disasters,  his  work  had 
nevertheless  been  fairly  successful.  The  humane  and  gen- 
erous action  of  Dr.  McLoughlin  had  saved  him  the  results 
of  his  arduous  labors,  where  the  code  of  competition  might 
properly  have  deprived  him  of  it,  and,  if  he  did  not  bring 
to  his  associates  a  goodly  lot  of  furs,  he  had  in  his  pocket 
securities  which  were  even  better. 

Smith's  Christian  nature  would  not  permit  the  benevolent 
McLoughlin  to  outdo  him  in  generosity,  and  he  insisted  that 

*For  a  description  of  this  valley  see  Part  V.,  Chapter  II. 


290  MEEK    IN    THE    YELLOWSTONE    PARK. 

the  fall  hunt  of  himself  and  his  associates  should  be  made 
east  of  the  Continental  Divide,  so  as  not  to  trespass  upon  the 
territory  which  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  claimed  as 
belonging  commercially  to  them.^ 

The  other  parties  reluctantly  consented,  and  all  set  out  on 
their  fall  hunt  in  October,  taking  a  northeasterly  direction 
toward  the  Yellowstone,  with  the  intention  of  swinging 
round  into  the  Bighorn  basin,  where  Milton  Sublette  had 
been  left.  Just  as  they  were  starting  they  had  a  slight  brush 
with  the  Blackfeet  Indians,  who  attempted  to  steal  their 
horses.  It  was  a  little  too  early  in  the  morning,  before  the 
horses  had  been  turned  out  to  graze,  and  the  Indians  were 
beaten  off  through  the  energetic  action  of  Fitzpatrick. 

While  croFsing  the  range  of  mountains  between  the  Galla- 
tin and  Yellowstone  rivers,  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  modern 
National  Park,  they  had  a  severe  skirmish  with  the  Black- 
feet,  in  whi^h  two  men  were  killed,  and  the  rest  of  the  party 
scattered.  U  was  some  time  before  they  all  came  together 
again,  in  f^ct  not  until  they  were  east  of  the  mountains  and 
in  the  Bighorn  basin.  The  journey  through  the  rugged 
mountams  bordering  the  park  on  the  north  was  one  of  great 
peril  and  suffering.  One  of  the  party,  Joseph  Meek,  became 
separated  from  the  rest  and  utterly  lost,  wandering  into  the 
hot  springs  country  just  east  of  the  Yellowstone  river,  where 
he  was  found  by  some  of  his  companions. 

At  length  the  party  were  re-united  in  the  Bighorn  basin, 
where  they  found  Milton  Sublette,  and  all  together  went 
south  with  their  furs  to  the  valley  of  Wind  river.  It  being 
too  late  to  carry  the  furs  to  St.  Louis,  they  were  cached  in 
the  side  of  a  cut  bank.  This  locality  was  fixed  as  the  next 
rendezvous,  and  thereupon  Sublette,  with  one  man,  set  out 
for  St.  Louis  to  bring  out  the  outfit  for  the  following  year. 
It  was  about  Christmas  time  that  he  started  on  his  journey, 
and  he  reached  his  destination  on  the  nth  of  February  fol- 

^  Original  data  on  the  doings  of  this  year  are  exceedingly  few  and  1 
have  mainly  relied  on  Mrs.  Victor's  River  of  the  West  for  them  as  also 
for  numerous  details  relating  to  the  three  following  years. 


WAGONS    ON    THE    OREGON    TRAIL.  29I 

lowing.^  This  is  one  of  the  very  few  examples  at  this  early- 
day  of  crossing  the  plains  in  the  dead  of  winter. 

The  party  which  remained  behind  was  too  large  to  find 
subsistence  in  one  locality,  there  being  no  buffalo  in  the 
vicinity,  and  Smith  and  Jackson  were  compelled  to  shift 
their  camp,  although  in  mid-winter,  to  better  ground.  They 
accordingly  went  over  into  the  Powder  river  country,  where 
they  found  buffalo  and  spent  the  winter  in  plenty.  On  the 
I  St  of  April  Jackson  set  out  for  a  spring  hunt  at  his  old 
stamping  ground  in  Jackson  Hole,  while  Smith,  with  young 
Jim  Bridger  as  guide,  started  by  way  of  the  Yellowstone  for 
the  upper  Missouri.  Smith  went  as  far  as  to  the  Judith 
basin,  made  a  successful  hunt,  and  returned  to  the  rendez- 
vous on  Wind  river  without  any  untoward  accident.  Jack- 
son likewise  came  back  after  a  successful  hunt,  and  here  the 
tv/o  partners  waited  the  arrival  of  Sublette  from  the  States.'* 
At  about  this  time  an  unfortunate  accident  occurred.  While 
removing  the  furs  from  the  cache  made  the  previous  Decem- 
ber, the  bank  caved  in,  killing  one  man  and  severely  injuring 
another. 

Sublette  left  St.  Louis  April  loth  with  eighty-one  men 
mounted  on  mules,  ten  wagons  with  merchandise  drawn  by 
five  mules  each,  two  dearborns  of  one  mule  each,  and  twelve 
head  of  cattle  and  one  milch  cow  for  their  support  until  they 
should  reach  the  buffalo  country.  This  was  the  advent  of 
wagons  on  the  Oregon  Trail,  although  they  had  already 
been  used  for  eight  years  on  the  Santa  Fe  Trail.  The  party 
arf-ived  at  rendezvous  on  the  i6th  of  July  without  any  difB- 
culty,  and  the  letter  of  the  partners  referred  to  in  the  above 

'  The  following  interesting  scrap,  referring  to  Sublette's  arrival,  taken 
from  the  correspondence  of  the  times  shows  the  unaccommodating  atti- 
tude of  rival  traders  toward  each  other.  Chouteau,  writing  to  Astor, 
thus  refers  to  Sublette's  arrival:  "  Je  I'ai  beaucoup  questionne.  Je  n'ai 
rien  obtenu  de  satisfaisant.     II  me  regard  toujours  comme  un  opponent."' 

*  For  a  description  of  the  journey  to  rendezvous  in  1830  I  rely  upon  a 
joint  letter  of  Smith,  Jackson  and  Sublette  to  the  Hon.  John  H.  Eaton. 
Secretary  of  War.  dated  St.  Louis,  Oct.  29,  1830,  and  published  in 
Sen.  Doc.  39,  21st  Cong.,  2nd  Sess. 


292  THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    FUR    COMPANY. 

note  says  that  "  here  the  wagons  could  easily  have  crossed 
the  Rocky  mountains,  it  being  what  is  called  the  Southern 
Pass,  had  it  been  desirable  for  them  to  do  so."  ^ 

The  business  of  the  rendezvous  was  this  year  particularly 
important.  Smith,  Jackson  and  Sublette,  following  the 
example  of  Ashley  four  years  before,  relinquished  their  trade 
and  sold  out  to  several  younger  men,  who  had  now  become 
distinguished  by  their  ability  and  experience.  These  were 
Thomas  Fitzpatrick,  Milton  G.  Sublette,  Henry  Fraeb,  Jean 
Baptiste  Gervais,  and  James  Bridger,  and  the  new  firm  was 
called  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company,  the  only  instance 
where  any  firm  did  business  under  this  specific  name.  The 
transfer  of  the  business  from  the  old  to  the  new  firm  took 
place  August  4,  1830.  Smith,  Jackson,  and  Sublette  left 
the  same  day  for  St.  Louis  with  one  hundred  and  ninety 
packs  of  beaver.  They  arrived  October  loth,  bringing  back 
the  ten  wagons,  four  of  the  cattle,  and  the  milch  cow. 

In  the  following  year  they  embarked  in  the  Santa  Fe 
trade,  but  Smith  was  slain  in  the  Cimarron  desert  by  the 
Comanches  soon  after  and  the  firm  was  thus  dissolved. 
Jackson  formed  a  partnership  with  David  E.  Waldo,  and  is 
said  to  have  taken  a  party  soon  after  to  California.  He 
here  disappears  from  the  field  of  our  inquiries.  Sublette 
returned  to  St.  Louis  and  for  several  years  supplied  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  with  their  outfits  and 
brought  back  and  marketed  their  furs. 

The  history  of  the  new  Rocky  Mountain  Company  during 
the  four  years  of  its  existence  is  difficult  to  trace.  It  carried 
on  a  wild  and  roving  trade,  and  its  numerous  bands  of  trap- 
pers overspread  the  entire  mountain  region.     No  attempt 

^  The  writers  refer  to  the  rendezvous  as  being  at  the  "  head  of  Wind 
river,"  which,  with  the  above  statement  that  it  was  near  the  Southern 
Pass,  is  somewhat  confusing.  It  is  possible  that  the  "  head  of  Wind 
river  "  was  the  head  of  the  Popo  Agie,  and  that  Southern  Pass  was  the 
South  Pass  at  the  head  of  the  Sweetwater  where  that  name  was  always 
thereafter  applied.  The  rendezvous  would  hardly  have  been  fixed  at 
the  head  of  Wind  river  near  either  of  the  two  passes  to  be  found  there. 


FALL    HUNT    OF    183O.  293 

will  be  made  to  do  more  than  follow  the  wanderings  of  the 
more  important  parties. 

As  soon  as  Smith,  Jackson,  and  Sublette  had  left  the 
Wind  river  rendezvous  in  August,  1830,  the  new  firm  organ- 
ized its  campaign  for  the  ensuing  autumn.  Fraeb  and  Ger- 
vais  led  a  party  south  into  the  mountains  of  Colorado,  and 
nothing  is  known  of  their  exact  whereabouts  until  the  next 
rendezvous.  Fitzpatrick,  Sublette,  and  Bridger,  with  a 
party  of  over  two  hundred  men,  moved  north  through  the 
Bighorn  basin,  crossed  the  Yellowstone  river,  and  continued 
in  a  northwesterly  direction  until  they  reached  the  Missouri 
river  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Great  Falls.  Turning  south  they 
ascended  the  Missouri  to  the  Three  Forks,  and  then  followed 
the  Jefferson  Fork  to  the  Divide.  The  expedition  was  a 
successful  one,  and  a  large  quantity  of  furs  was  taken,  while 
the  formidable  appearance  of  the  party  kept  the  Blackfeet 
from  attacking  it. 

Crossing  the  Divide  the  trappers  continued  their  course 
south  for  several  hundred  miles,  and  finally  reached  Ogden's 
Hole  on  the  northeast  shore  of  Great  Salt  Lake.  Here,  it  is 
said,  they  fell  in  with  Peter  Skeen  Ogden,  the  same  Hudson 
Bay  Company  trader  whom  Ashley  had  relieved  of  his  furs 
five  years  before.  Fitzpatrick  proceeded  without  delay  to 
follow  his  old  leader's  example,  if  not  in  method,  at  least  in 
the  results  obtained.  As  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  did  not 
permit  the  use  of  liquor  in  the  trade,  except  along  the  inter- 
national boundary,  Ogden  was  quite  helpless  to  oppose  Fitz- 
patrick, who,  without  the  slightest  scruple,  debauched  his 
men  with  liquor  and  soon  secured  the  product  of  a  year's 
hunt  for  comparatively  nothing.  After  this  profitable  but 
discreditable  stroke  of  business  the  party  left  Ogden's  Hole 
and  crossed  the  country  to  the  eastward  in  time  to  reach  the 
valley  of  Powder  river  before  winter  set  in.  An  idea  of  the 
lengthy  journeys  which  these  parties  were  wont  to  make  may 
be  had  from  the  present  instance  in  which  the  distance  trav- 
eled by  Fitzpatrick  and  his  party  during  their  fall  hunt  could 
not  have  been  less  than  twelve  hundred  miles. 


294  FITZPATRICK    GOES    TO    SANTA    FE. 

The  Powder  river  valley  was  always  a  favorite  wintering 
ground,  because  game,  especially  buffalo,  was  usually  plen- 
tiful there,  and  the  grazing  was  good.  The  partners 
remained  there  all  winter,  excepting  Fraeb  and  Gervais,  who 
returned  to  their  hunting  grounds  in  the  south.  During  the 
winter  an  express  was  sent  to  St.  Louis. 

With  the  opening  of  the  spring  of  1831  the  partners  again 
set  out  for  the  Blackfoot  country,  but  they  had  not  gone  far 
when  most  of  their  horses  were  stolen  by  the  Crows.  A  ca- 
tastrophe of  this  kind,  so  fatal  to  the  mobility  of  a  party, 
destroyed  its  effectiveness,  and  it  was  imperative  to  retake 
the  horses.  A  party  was  organized  for  this  purpose,  and, 
after  considerable  delay  and  a  good  deal  of  adroit  manage- 
ment, succeeded  not  only  in  retaking  their  own  horses,  but 
in  capturing  those  belonging  to  the  Indians. 

Shortly,  after  this  affair  Fitzpatrick  left  with  one  man  for 
St.  Louis  to  bring  out  the  annual  supplies  to  the  rendezvous 
appointed  for  this  year  in  Green  river  valley.  He  traveled 
by  land  and  passed  Council  Bluffs  about  April  19th.  Upon 
his  arrival  at  St.  Louis  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  accompany 
Smith,  Jackson,  and  Sublette  to  Santa  Fe,  from  which  point 
he  would  take  his  outfit  to  the  rendezvous.  Under  this 
unfortunate  arrangement  he  accompanied  the  disastrous 
expedition  in  which  Smith  lost  his  life,  and  finally,  after 
long  and  vexatious  delays,  he  left  Santa  Fe  with  his  mer- 
chandise, still  almost  as  far  from  the  rendezvous  as  he  was 
at  St.  Louis.  He  traveled  north  along  the  eastern  base  of 
the  mountains  and  reached  the  North  Platte  river  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Laramie  late  in  the  year. 

In  the  meanwhile  Sublette  and  Bridger  prosecuted  their 
spring  hunt,  swinging  rotjjid  aifiong  the  mountains  on  very 
much  the  same  circuit  as  that  followed  in  the  previous 
autumn.  In  due  time  they  reached  the  place  of  rendezvous 
on  Green  river,  where  they  met  Fraeb  and  Gervais,  who  had 
now  been  al)sent  for  about  a  year.  As  Fitzpatrick  did  not 
appear  it  Was  decided  that  Fraeb  should  go  to  meet  him. 
After  a  long  search  and  a  good  deal  of  wandering  among 


AMERICAN    FUR    COMPANY    IN    THE    FIELD.  295 

the  Black  Hills,  he  finally  met  Fitzpatrick  just  as  the  latter 
arrived  at  Platte  river.  Sublette  and  Bridger,  despairing  of 
seeing  Fitzpatrick,  had  already  broken  up  the  rendezvous 
and  betaken  themselves  to  the  Powder  river  country  for  the 
winter.  Hither  Fitzpatrick  and  Fraeb  bent  their  course, 
and  in  a  short  time  the  five  partners  were  again  gathered 
together. 

Their  prospects  for  a  quiet  winter  in  the  plentiful  coun- 
try of  Powder  river  were  not  to  be  realized.  A  cloud  of 
black  portent  was  gathering  in  the  hitherto  unclouded  hori- 
zon of  the  company's  affairs.  It  was  at  about  this  time 
that  they  began  to  feel  the  presence  of  that  rival  who  finally 
drove  them  out  of  the  business.  In  another  chapter  will  be 
given  an  account  of  the  steady  and  resistless  progress  of  the 
American  Fur  Company  up  the  Missouri  and  into  the  moun- 
tains, where  it  sought  to  share  the  rich  harvest  hitherto 
garnered  by  the  Rocky  Mountain  traders  alone.  Its  first 
essays  in  the  mountains  were  conducted  by  three  partisans, 
Vanderburgh,  Drips,  and  Fontenelle,  whose  names  became 
familiar  in  the  annals  of  the  trade.  The  policy  of  these 
leaders  when  they  first  entered  the  country  was  to  follow  the 
parties  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  and  learn  from 
them  where  the  best  trapping  country  lay.  It  was  an  under- 
hand method  of  conducting  business,  and  it  led  to  some  des- 
perate and  tragic  situations.  / 

It  was  in  the  fall  of  1831  and  in  the  Powder  river  country 
that  the  tactics  of  these  interlopers  became  apparent.  Van- 
derburgh and  Drips  had  followed  hard  upon  the  trail  of 
Fraeb  and  Fitzpatrick  and  went  into  camp  in  their  imme- 
diate neighborhood.  Fitzpatrick  and  his  associates,  indig- 
nant at  this  action,  quietly  stole  out  of  the  country,  and  by 
forced  marches  traveled  west  for  upwards  of  four  hundred 
miles  to  the  forks  of  Snake  river,  having  fixed  their  next 
rendezvous  in  the  valley  of  Pierre's  Hole.  They  spent  the 
winter  trading  with  the  Flathead  and  Nez  Perce  Indians, 
imannoyed  by  the  presence  of  their  competitors. 

Early  in  the  year   1832,  the  most  eventful  year  in  the 


296  RENDEZVOUS    IN    PIERRE's    HOLE. 

Rocky  Mountain  fur  trade,  Fitzpatrick  and  his  partners  set 
out  upon  their  spring  hunt.  Their  course  lay  up  the  valley 
of  the  Snake  to  the  mouth  of  Salt  river  and  up  the  latter 
stream  for  a  distance,  when  they  crossed  over  into  the  valley 
of  John  Gray  (now  called  John  Day)  river.  Ascending 
this  stream  to  its  source,  the  party  passed  over  a.  range  of 
mountains  into  the  valley  of  Bear  river.  Here,  to  their  dis- 
gust, they  found  Vanderburgh  and  Drips,  who  were  evi- 
dently trying  to  find  them.  It  was  resolved  to  strike  ojfif  into 
some  other  section  at  once.  Sublette  unluckily  was  severely 
wounded  in  an  affray  with  an  Indian,  and  was  compelled  to 
stay  behind.  Joseph  Meek  remained  to  take  care  of  him, 
and  it  was  not  until  several  months  afterward  that  he  was 
able  to  rejoin  his  companions,  who,  after  their  spring  hunt, 
had  assembled  at  the  annual  rendezvous  in  the  valley  of 
Pierre's  Hole.® 

Here,  to  their  infinite  vexation,  Vanderburgh  and  Drips 
turned  up  again,  and  as  it  would  soon  be  time  for  the  various 
bands  of  trappers  and  Indians  to  assemble,  it  was  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  receive  the  annual  convoy  of  goods 
from  St.  Louis  before  their  rivals  should  capture  the  trade. 
William  L.  Sublette  had  contracted  to  bring  out  the  outfit, 
and  in  order  to  hurry  him  up  it  was  decided  that  Fitzpatrick 
should  go  to  meet  him.  He  set  out  at  once  and  met  Sub- 
lette on  the  Platte  river  below  the  mouth  of  the  Laramie,  a 
distance  of  some  four  hundred  miles  from  Pierre's  Hole.' 
On  their  way  back,  June  13,  Fitzpatrick  hired  a  p^ty  of  men 
at  Laramie  river  belonging  to  the  firm  of  Gant  and  Black- 
well,  who  had  experienced  a  most  unfortunate  campaign  at 
trapping  during  the  previous  winter. 

When  the  joint  party  arrived  at  the  Sweetwater,  Fitz- 
patrick went  on  ahead  entirely  alone  to  carry  the  news  of 
Sublette's  approach  to  rendezvous.  It  was  a  hazardous 
enterprise  in  that  dangerous  country.  Fitzpatrick  led  a 
very  fleet  horse  already  saddled  and  equipped,  while  he  rode 
another,  so  that  the  first  might  be  at  all  times  fresh  for  a 

'  For  a  description  of  this  beautiful  valley,  see  Part  V,,  Chapter  II. 


FITZPATRICK    LOST.  297 

'chase  if  necessary.  Everything  went  well  until  he  reached 
the  valley  of  Green  river,  where  he  came  suddenly  upon  a 
party  of  Blackfeet  Indians.  Mounting  the  led  horse  he 
galloped  to  the  mountains  and  concealed  himself  in  a  defile. 
After  waiting  three  days  he  came  out  from  his  retreat  only 
to  fall  in  with  the  Indians  again.  This  time  he  lost  his 
other  horse  in  making  his  escape  together  with  all  the  equip- 
ments which  were  attached  to  his  saddle.  Even  his  blankets 
were  lost,  and  he  saved  only  his  rifle  and  the  single  charge 
which  it  contained.  He  barely  succeeded  in  saving  him- 
self by  crawling  among  the  rocks  and  cliffs  of  the  mountains. 
Here  he  remained  for  several  days,  when  he  finally  emerged 
and  made  his  way  on  foot  in  utter  destitution  toward  the 
rendezvous.  His  sole  resource  for  food  must  have  been  ber- 
ries and  roots.  His  moccasins  wore  out  and  he  made  others 
with  his  hat.  In  swimming  one  of  the  rivers,  probably  the 
Snake,  he  lost  his  rifle.  At  length,  when  nearly  used  up, 
he  was  met  by  two  Iroquois  hunters,  who  helped  him  to  ren- 
dezvous on  one  of  their  horses.  He  arrived  so  emaciated 
as  scarcely  to  be  recognized.  Sublette  was  already  there, 
and  the  partners  were  thoroughly  alarmed  over  his  absence. 

The  caravan  of  William  L.  Sublette  reached  the  rendez- 
vous on  the  8th  of  July.  There  were  already  present  the 
various  parties  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  num- 
bering between  one  and  two  hundred  men.  The  American 
Fur  Company  was  represented  by  a  large  party  under  Van- 
derburgh and  Drips.  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth  "^  with  his  raw 
New  Englanders  was  there,  while  the  neighboring  plains 
were  covered  with  the  tents  of  free  trappers  and  bands  of 
Indians.  The  trading  proceeded  briskly  and  much  to  the 
advantage  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company,  for  Fon- 
tenelle  had  not  yet  arrived  with  the  annual  supplies  for  Van- 
derburgh and  Drips,  and  they  were  therefore  not  well 
prepared  to  compete  with  their  rivals. 

On  the  17th  of  July  the  rendezvous  began  to  break  up. 
Milton  Sublette  was  to  lead  a  party  into  the  country  north 

^  See  Chapter  XXV.,  this  Part, 


298  BATTLE    OF    PIERRE's    HOLE. 

of  the  Salt  Lake  desert.  As  his  route  would  lie  for  a  long 
distance  in  the  valley  of  Snake  river,  Wyeth  decided  to 
accompany  him  for  protection  as  far  as  their  ways  ran 
together.  A  free  trapper  by  the  name  of  Sinclair  with  fif- 
teen men  also  started  with  them.  The  first  day  they  pro- 
ceeded about  eight  miles  up  the  valley,  intending  to  bear  off 
to  the  south  on  the  following  morning.  Just  as  they  were 
about  to  resume  their  march,  July  18,  they  saw  Indians 
approaching,  who  proved  to  be  a  band  of  the  dreaded  Gros- 
ventres.  A  parley  ensued  during  which  Antoine  Godin 
killed  a  chief  who  had  come  forward,  and  thus  precipitated 
the  Battle  of  Pierre's  Hole,  which  raged  the  remainder  of 
the  day.  It  was  a  hard  fought  struggle,  and  the  most  noted 
battle  between  the  Indians  and  the  traders  that  ever  took 
place  in  the  mountains.  Among  the  casualties  on  the  part  of 
the  whites  was  the  partisan  Sinclair  killed,  and  William  L. 
Sublette  wounded.  The  Blackfeet  withdrew  during  the 
night.^ 

This  unexpected  event  delayed  the  departure  from  the 
rendezvous.  On  the  25th  of  July  a  portion  of  Wyeth's 
party,  who  had  decided  to  return  home,  became  impatient  of 
delay,  and  set  out  with  Alfred  K.  Stephens  and  a  small 
party  of  free  trappers  for  Jackson  Hole,  The  next  day 
they  w^ere  attacked  by  the  Blackfeet,  and  two  of  their  party 
were  killed,  while  Stephens  was  mortally  wounded. 

Milton  Sublette  and  Gervais,  with  Sinclair's  free  trappers 
and  Wyeth's  reduced  party,  left  on  the  24th.  William  L. 
Sublette's  wound  had  so  far  healed  that  he  was  enabled  to 
start  for  St.  Louis  on  the  30th.  He  took  with  him  a  large 
pack  train  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  packs  of  beaver, 
Fitzpatrick  and  Bridger  left  for  the  headwaters  of  the 
Missouri  hoping  to  elude  their  rivals.  Vanderburgh  and 
Drips  set  out  in  all  haste,  August  2nd,  to  find  Fontenelle  and 
secure  their  equipment,  before  Fitzpatrick  and  Bridger 
should  get  too  far  away.  They  found  Fontenelle  on  Green 
river,   August  8th,   and   four   days  later   started  back   to 

•  For  a  full  account  of  this  battle  see  Part  IV.,  Chapter  II. 


TURNING    POINT    IN    THE    MOUNTAIN    TRADE.  299 

Pierre's  Hole.     Fraeb  probably  went  back  to  the  sources  ^ 

of  Grand  river  in  the  Colorado  mountains.  ~)    ■' 

The  rendezvous  in  Pierre's  Hole  was  one  of  the  most^*\4^ 
important  of  those  singular  gatherings  ever  held  in  the  v 
mountains,  and  it  marked  the  turning  point  in  the  Rocky 
mountain  trade.  A  great  change  was  beginning  to  come 
over  the  business.  The  field  was  no  longer  to  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Fur  Company  alone.  The  powerful  opposition 
of  the  American  Fur  Company  had  evidently  come  to  stay. 
Wyeth  had  entered  the  country,  and  although  his  present 
opposition  amounted  to  nothing,  there  was  no  telling  what 
a  man  of  his  energy  might  not  yet  accomplish.  Finally, 
there  was  Captain  Bonneville,  backed  by  New  York  capital- 
ists, invading  the  mountains  with  a  formidable  party.  The 
opposition  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  was  nothing  to 
that  now  pouring  in  from  the  East.  The  old  order  of  things 
was  gone.  Henceforth  there  was  to  be  bitter  competition, 
all  the  more  to  be  dreaded  because  it  most  likely  meant  the 
ruin  of  the  business. 

It  is  needless  to  follow  in  detail  the  wanderings  of  the 
various  parties  who  left  the  rendezvous  of  Pierre's  Hole  in 
1832.  Milton  Sublette  and  Gervais  spent  the  summer  and 
autumn  in  the  country  to  the  southwest.  Fitzpatrick  and 
Bridger,  in  their  trapping  ground  on  Jefferson  Fork,  soon 
had  the  mortification  to  find  Vanderburgh  and  Drips  on  their 
trail  again.  They  had  offered  at  rendezvous  to  divide  the 
trapping  territory  with  them,  but  this  offer  had  been  declined, 
probably  because  the  newcomers  preferred  to  use  their 
experienced  rivals  to  pilot  them  to  the  best  beaver  country. 
Fitzpatrick  and  Bridger  promptly  pulled  up  their  stakes 
and  sought  again  to  get  away,  but  to  no  purpose.  Becoming 
utterly  exasperated  they  resolved  to  lead  their  opponents  a 
chase  which  would  teach  them  a  lesson.  Plunging  into  the 
very  heart  of  the  Blackfoot  country  they  lured  their  rivals 
from  one  point  to  another  until  they  were  attacked  by  the 
Indians  and  Vanderburgh  was  slain.^     Bridger  was  himself 

*  For  the  story  of  this  lamentable  tragedy  see  Part  IV.,  Chapter  III. 


300  GREEN    RIVER    RENDEZVOUS. 

attacked  soon  after  and  barely  escaped  with  his  life.  He 
received  a  severe  wound  and  carried  an  arrowhead  in  his 
back  for  two  years  after. 

Winter  found  the  various  parties  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
Fur  Company,  except  possibly  that  of  Fraeb,  again  together 
in  the  Snake  river  valley.  In  the  following  spring  they 
made  their  usual  hunt  and  in  due  time  gathered  at  the  annual 
rendezvous  appointed  for  this  year  (1833)  at  the  head  of 
Green  river.  This  was  another  great  gathering,^*'  for  be- 
sides the  two  leading  companies  there  were  present  Captain 
Bonneville's  company,  numerous  free  trappers,  a  party  of 
sportsmen  under  an  English  officer.  Captain  Stuart, ^^  Na- 
thaniel J.  Wyeth,  then  on  his  way  back  home,  and  Robert 
Campbell,  with  a  party  and  outfit  just  from  St.  Louis  —  in 
all  about  three  hundred  white  men.  There  was  besides  a 
small  village  of  Snake  Indians.  The  rendezvous  was  in  full 
activity  as  early  as  June  15th,  and  continued  until  June 
24th. 

On  the  latter  date  Robert  Campbell,  Fitzpatrick,  and  Mil- 

^'*"I  should  have  been  proud  of  my  countrymen  if  you  could  have 
seen  the  American  Fur  Company  or  the  party  of  Mr.  Campbell.  For 
efficiency  of  goods,  men,  animals  and  arms  I  do  not  believe  the  fur  bus- 
iness has  afforded  a  better  example."  Wyeth  at  Green  river  rendezvous 
1833,  July  18. 

In  spite  of  this  excellent  character,  however,  Wyeth  expressed  his 
opinion  in  the  same  letter  that  things  were  in  such  a  state  that  life 
was  unsafe  and  that  there  was  "a  great  majority  of  scoundrels"  among 
the  various  companies. 

"  This  Captain  Stuart  is  often  mentioned  in  the  correspondence  of  the 
fur  trade  and  he  was  inuch  liked  by  the  mountain  men.  His  full  name 
and  title,  as  given  by  a  contemporary  authority,  was  Sir  William  Drum- 
mond  Stuart,  Bart.  His  home  was  in  Perthshire,  Scotland,  where  he 
lived  for  many  years  after  his  adventures  in  America.  There  is  a  tra- 
dition that  he  published  a  journal  of  his  experiences.  If  he  did,  the 
work  would  be  well  worth  reading,  as  it  could  not  fail  to  be  useful  his- 
torical authority. 

In  the  same  party  with  Captain  Stuart  was  another  character  also 
frequently  mentioned.  This  was  Dr.  Benjamin  Harrison,  who  had  gone 
to  the  mountains  apparently  to  recuperate  his  health.  He  was  a  son  of 
Gen.  William  Henry  Harrison. 


iMf 


CONTRACT    BETWEEN    FITZPATRICK    AND    WYETH.      3OI 

ton  Sublette,  with  fifty-five  packs  of  beaver,  accompanied  by- 
Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth  and  Captain  Stuart,  left  for  the  Bighorn 
river.  It  was  intended  to  return  to  St.  Louis  by  way  of  the 
Yellowstone  and  Missouri  rivers,  probably  in  order  to  meet 
William  L.  Sublette,  who  was  coming  up  the  river  this  year 
with  a  strong  outfit  in  opposition  to  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany. Wyeth  says  that  this  route  was  selected  because  of 
the  danger  from  the  Aricara  Indians,  who  were  at  this  time 
infesting  the  Platte  route  with  their  marauding  parties. 
At  a  point  on  tho^Bighorn  river,  where  a  stop  was  made  to 
prepare  bullboats  for  the  further  journey  by  water,  and 
where  Fitzpatrick  parted  company  with  Campbell  and  Mil- 
ton Sublette,  a  contract  was  entered  into  between  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Fur  Company  and  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  August 
14th,  1833,  t)y  which  the  latter  agreed  to  bring  out  three 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  merchandise  to  their  rendezvous 
on  Green  river  in  the  following  year.  Sublette,  Campbell, 
and  Wyeth  then  went  on  by  boat  and  arrived  in  due  time  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  where  they  met  W.  L.  Sub- 
lette with  his  opposition  outfit.  Campbell  and  Milton 
Sublette  remained  behind  with  him  and  Wyeth  went  on 
alone. 

The  various  bands  of  trappers  now  scouring  the  moun- 
tains made  their  usual  fall  hunt,  doing  everything  that  they 
could  to  hamper  each  other's  movements.  Only  one  inci- 
dent of  the  fall  campaign  will  be  noticed  and  that  because  it 
illustrates  so  well  the  desperate  measures  which  the  fur 
companies  were  now  using  toward  each  other.  After  Fitz- 
patrick had  bidden  goodbye  to  his  associates  on  the  Bighorn 
river  he  set  out  for  the  valley  of  Tongue  river,  where  he 
expected  to  find  the  Crow  village,  in  order  to  secure  their 
permission  to  make  his  fall  hunt  in  their  country.  "  But 
before  I  had  time,"  says  Fitzpatrick,  "  for  form  or  ceremony 
of  any  kind,  they  robbed  me  and  my  men  of  everything  we 
possessed."^^ 

"  "  A  letter  from  Captain  Stuart  near  the  Crow  village  in  September 
states     .     .     .    that  Fitzpatrick  was  robbed  of  lOO  horses,  all  his  mer- 


302  ROBBERY    OF    FITZPATRICK. 

Fitzpatrick  openly  charged  the  American  Fur  Company 
with  having  instigated  this  outrage;  the  Indians  confessed 
the  fact  and  the  company's  agent  admitted  it,  and  still  the 
only  evidence  of  any  restitution  that  has  come  to  our  notice 
is  in  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  by  McKenzie  to 
Samuel  Tulloch,  agent  of  the  company  among  the  Crows, 
dated  Fort  Union,  January  8,  1834:  "The  43  Beaver 
skins  traded,  marked,  '  R.  M.  F.  Co.,'  I  would  in  the  present 
instance  give  up  if  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  wishes  to  have  them,  on 
his  paying  the  price  the  articles  traded  for  them  were  worth 
on  their  arrival  in  the  Crow  village,  and  the  expense  of 
bringing  the  beaver  in  and  securing  it.  My  goods  are 
brought  in  to  the  country  to  trade  and  I  would  as  willingly 
dispose  of  them  to  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  as  to  any  one  else  for 
beaver  or  beaver's  worth,  if  I  get  my  price.  I  make  this 
proposal  as  a  favor,  not  as  a  matter  of  right,  for  I  consider 
the  Indians  entitled  to  trade  any  beaver  in  their  possession 
to  me  or  to  any  other  trader."  A  most  condescending 
"  favor,"  to  be  sure!  After  having  instigated  the  robbery, 
and  then  having  gotten  the  plunder,  to  restore  it  to  its  right- 
ful owner  upon  payment  of  its  value  in  the  Indian  trade, 
was  a  mark  of  generosity  which  ought  not  to  be  omitted 
from  the  credit  of  the  American  Fur  Company ! 

But  if  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  had  just  cause 
for  indignation  at  this  outrageous  treatment,  they  were  on 
their  part  equally  careless  of  their  own  business  obligations. 
Milton  Sublette  went  to  Boston  during  the  following  winter, 
and  under  his  direction  and  advice  Wyeth  made  up  the 
invoice  of  merchandise  which  he  had  contracted  to  take  to 
the  mountains.  In  the  following  summer  these  two  gentle- 
men were  crossing  the  plains  together  on  their  way  to  the 
Green  river  rendezvous.  Unfortunately  Sublette  was  com- 
pelled to  go  back  on  account  of  illness.  William  L.  Sub- 
lette in  the  meanwhile  strained  every  nerve  to  reach  the 

chandise,  some  beaver  and  traps,  his  capote,  and  even  his  watch.  That 
party  can  consequently  make  no  hunt  this  fall."  Kenneth  McKenzie  to 
Pierre  Chouteau,  Fort  Union,  December  10,  1833. 


DEPLORABLE    STATE    OF    MOUNTAIN    TRADE.  303 

mountains  ahead  of  Wyeth.  In  this  he  succeeded  and 
induced  Fitzpatrick  to  refuse  to  stand  by  his  bargain  with 
Wyeth.  The  latter  was  thus  left  with  a  large  quantity  of 
merchandise  on  his  hands  which  he  had  brought  to  this 
point  under  a  written  agreement  with  the  company  who  now 
arbitrarily  refused  to  receive  it. 

Outrages  of  this  sort  show  to  what  a  state  the  fur  trade 
had  now  degenerated.  Unrestrained  competition  had  filled 
the  mountains  with  rival  companies,  each  using  every  effort, 
regardless  of  honor,  to  undermine  the  power  of  the  rest. 
It  became  as  much  as  one's  life  was  worth  to  change  service 
from  one  company  to  another,  and  it  is  stated  that  murders 
were  committed  on  account  of  these  rivalries.  The  Indians 
were  utterly  demoralized  by  the  strange  conduct  of  the 
whites  toward  each  other  and  of  course  lost  all  confidence  in 
them.  They  became  more  lawless  and  less  industrious,  and 
even  the  friendly  tribes  could  no  longer  be  depended  upon. 

In  proportion  as  these  unfavorable  conditions  increased 
the  profits  of  the  trade  fell  off,  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur 
Company  could  now  clearly  see  that  its  business  was  on  the 
decline.  It  was,  moreover,  the  dupe  of  those  on  whom  it 
had  placed  its  chief  reliance.  The  elder  Sublette  and  his 
partner,  Robert  Campbell,  were  shrewdly  drawing  into  their 
own  hands  the  profits  of  the  trade.  By  virtue  of  their 
arrangements  with  the  Mountain  Company  for  bringing  out 
supplies  and  marketing  the  furs,  they  controlled  the  entire 
situation  and  turned  into  their  own  coffers  the  hard-earned 
profits  of  others.^^ 

It  was  amid  discouraging  conditions  like  these  that  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  met  in  annual  rendezvous 

^'  Significant  of  this  fact  is  the  following  letter  from  Nathaniel  J. 
Wyeth  to  M.  G.  Sublette,  Ham's  Fork,  July  ist,  1834,  after  Fitzpatrick 
had  refused  to  stand  by  Wyeth's  contract  with  Sublette.  "  Now,  Milton, 
business  is  closed  between  us,  but  you  will  find  that  you  have  only 
bound  yourself  over  to  receive  your  supplies  at  such  a  price  as  may  be 
inflicted  upon  you,  and  that  all  you  will  ever  make  in  this  country  will 
go  to  pay  for  your  goods.  You  will  be  kept,  as  you  have  been,  a  mere 
slave  to  catch  beaver  for  others." 


304    DISSOLUTION  OF  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  FUR  COMPANY. 

in  the  summer  of  1834.  A  dissolution  of  the  partnership 
was  agreed  upon.  Henry  Fraeb  sold  out  his  interest  for 
"  forty  head  of  horse  beast,  forty  beaver  traps,  eight  guns, 
and  one  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  merchandise."  Gervais 
followed  suit  "  in  consideration  of  twenty  head  of  horse 
beast,  thirty  beaver  traps,  and  five  hundred  dollars'  worth 
of  merchandise."  The  remaining  partners  formed  a  new 
firm  under  the  style  of  Fitzpatrick,  Sublette  and  Bridger, 
assuming  all  responsibilities  of  the  old  company.  This 
firm  is  scarcely  known  in  the  history  of  the  times  and  con- 
tinued only  for  a  very  brief  time.  It  may  be  doubted  if  it 
was  a  legal  partnership  at  all,  for  it  was  formed  without 
the  knowledge  or  consent  of  one  of  the  members,  M.  G. 
Sublette,  who  was  absent  at  the  time  and  whose  signature  to 
the  instrument  evidencing  the  agreement  was  put  in  by  some 
one  else. 

The  annual  rendezvous  in  Green  river  valley  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1834  marks  the  end  of  the  career  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain Fur  Company. ^^     Fitzpatrick,  Sublette  and  Bridger  in 

"  The  firm  of  Sublette  and  Campbell  can  not  be  considered  as  a  Rocky 
Mountain  Company  but  rather  as  an  opposition  to  the  American  Fur 
Company  on  the  Missouri.  Its  history  will  be  considered  with  that 
of  the  latter  company. 

The  document  here  reproduced  (see  page  864)  marks  as  definitely 
th^  end  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  as  did  Ashley's  adver- 
tisement in  1822  its  beginning.  A  letter  written  by  Lucien  Fontenelle 
at  Bellevue  to  Pierre  Chouteau  September  17,  1834,  discusses  several 
interesting  points  in  the  present  connection  and  is  one  of  the  very  few 
surviving  letters  written  by  that  romantic  character :  "  I  arrived  here 
three  days  ago  with  my  expedition  and  returns  from  the  mountains 
for  the  last  year.  I  shall  be  able  in  a  few  days  more  to  ship  the  beaver 
down.  I  am  waiting  for  the  boat  which  is  now  building  at  the  Oto 
post.  It  is  probable  that  you  may  wish  to  have  the  beaver  insured  and 
I  am  extremely  sorry  that  I  can  not  give  you  the  correct  weight. 
However,  the  number  of  skins  I  have  amount  to  5,309  beaver,  90  of 
otter,  18  of  bear,  130  of  muskrats,  and  about  150  pounds  of  castorum. 
I  hardly  think  it  necessary  to  have  them  insured,  although  the  river 
is  very  low,  but  the  boat  will  be  very  strong,  and  will  have  a  double 
crew  formed  of  the  very  best  kind  of  voyageurs  under  the  eyes  of  Mr. 
Cabanne,  and  the  superintendence  of  Etienne  Provost. 


STATE    OF    THE    DIFFERENT    COMPANIES.  305 

the  following  year  bought  out  the  post  built  by  Sublette  and 
Campbell  in  the  fall  of  1834  on  the  Laramie  and  entered  the 
service  of  the  American  Fur  Company.  In  1836  Milton 
Sublette  died  and  the  firm  was  dissolved,  the  surviving  part- 
ners taking  individual  service  with  the  great  company  on 
the  Missouri. 

From  the  date  of  Ashley's  first  essay  in  the  fur  trade  to 
the  dissolution  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  was  a 
period  of  only  twelve  years.  What  did  the  company  accom- 
plish during  this  short  time,  and  what  is  its  proper  place  in 
western  history? 

In  the  matter  of  trade  it  opened  up  one  of  the  wealthiest 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  would  have  sent  down  more  beaver  had 
it  not  been  for  the  misfortune  of  losing  a  cache  in  which  there  were 
eight  or  ten  packs  lost,  destroyed  by  wolves  and  bears,  and  eight  or 
ten  packs  more  which  we  have  lost  by  the  rascality  of  a  few  men,  who 
were  largely  indebted  to  us  and  who  traded  their  fall's  hunt  with  other 
companies  during  the  winter  as  it  happened  they  did  not  winter  near  any 
of  our  parties.  I  am  in  hopes  that  it  will  not  so  happen  in  the  future 
as  I  have  so  arranged  that  it  will  be  hard  for  any  of  them  to  defraud  us 
hereafter. 

"  You  must  have  heard  before  this  of  the  returns  that  were  made  by 
Mr.  Sublette  and  the  company  of  Bonneville  and  Company.  The  latter 
I  think  by  next  year  will  be  at  an  end  with  the  mountains.  They  have 
sent  down  from  twelve  to  fourteen  packs  of  beaver  and  admitting  that 
it  should  sell  at  a  high  price  it  is  not  enough  to  pay  their  retiring  hands. 
Wm.  Sublette  takes  down  about  forty  packs.  The  heretofore  arrange- 
ments between  him  and  Messrs.  Fitzpatrick,  Milton  Sublette  and  others 
having  expired  last  spring,  they  have  concluded  not  to  have  anything 
more  to  do  with  William  Sublette  and  it  will  surprise  me  much  if  he 
takes  more  than  ten  packs  down  next  year.  I  have  entered  into  a 
partnership  with  the  others  and  the  whole  of  the  beaver  caught  by  them 
is  to  be  turned  over  to  us  by  agreement  made  with  them  in  concluding 
the  arrangement.  William  Sublette  has  built  such  a  fort  as  Fort  Clark 
(Mandans)  on  Laramie's  Fork  of  the  River  Platte  and  can  make  it  a 
central  place  for  the  Sioux  and  Cheyenne  trade.  He  has  now  men  run- 
ning after  these  Indians  to  bring  them  to  the  River  Platte.  Buffalo  is 
in  abundance  on  that  river  during  all  seasons  of  the  year,  and  the  situa- 
tion may  turn  out  to  be  an  advantageous  one  for  the  trade."     .     .    . 

Fontenelle. 


306    WORK    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    FUR    COMPANY. 

fur  sections  of  the  West.  Its  operations  were  confined  al- 
most exclusively  to  the  procuring  of  beaver  fur  and  this  was 
mainly  obtained  by  its  own  trappers  rather  than  by  trade 
from  the  Indians.  From  all  available  data  it  is  probable 
that  this  company  under  its  various  names  procured  and 
shipped  to  St.  Louis  upwards  of  a  thousand  packs  of  beaver 
worth  about  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Through  the 
business  arrangements  by  which  the  trade  was  conducted 
most  of  the  profits  found  their  way  into  the  pockets  of  the 
St.  Louis  parties,  particularly  Ashley  and  William  L.  Sub- 
lette. Milton  Sublette,  Fitzpatrick,  Gervais,  Fraeb  and 
Bridger  evidently  made  no  great  amount  of  money.  They 
did  the  work  and  endured  the  hardships,  but  their  earnings 
served  mainly  to  augment  the  fortunes  of  others. 

As  a  school  of  adventure  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Com- 
pany had  no  parallel  among  the  business  concerns  of  the 
mountains.  The  campaign  with  the  Aricaras,  the  advel^" - 
tures  of  Hugh  Glass,  Mike  Fink,  and  Etienne  Provost,  the 
wanderings  of  Jedediah  S.  Smith,  the  battle  of  Pierre's  Hole, 
and  innumerable  other  romantic  incidents  have  made  fa- 
mous the  career  of  this  notable  company.  Some  idea  of  the 
perils  incurred  in  their  numberless  adventures  may  be  judged 
from  the  loss  of  life  among  their  employes.  From  1822  to 
1829  inclusive  these  losses  amounted  to  seventy  men,  none 
of  whom  died  natural  deaths.  The  number  who  lost  their 
lives  in  the  later  career  of  the  company  would  certainly  bring 
the  total  up  to  one  hundred.  The  losses  of  property  amount- 
ed probably  to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  cause  of  geographical  knowledge  owes  a  great  deal  to 
this  company.  The  whole  country  around  the  sources  of  the 
Platte,  Green,  Yellowstone  and  Snake  rivers  and  in  the  re- 
gion around  Great  Salt  Lake  was  opened  up  by  them. 
Their  adventurers  gave  names  to  the  Sweetwater  river.  In- 
dependence Rock,  Jackson  Hole,  and  the  tributaries  of  Green 
river  and  Great  Salt  Lake.  They  discovered  this  lake  and 
also  South  Pass.  They  were  the  first  to  descend  Green 
river  by  boat,  and  likewise  the  first,  after  Colter,  to  enter 


ALBERT  GALLATIN  S  MAP.  307 

the  Yellowstone  Wonderland.  They  were  the  first  to  travel 
from  Great  Salt  Lake  southwesterly  to  southern  California, 
the  first  to  cross  the  Sierras  and  the  deserts  of  Utah  and  Ne- 
vada between  California  and  Great  Salt  Lake,  and  the  first, 
so  far  as  is  known,  to  travel  by  land  up  the  Pacific  coast 
from  San  Francisco  to  the  Columbia.  They  were  indefati- 
gable explorers  and  considering  the  fact  that  most  of  them 
made  no  records  of  what  they  did,  the  impress  which  they 
have  left  upon  the  geography  of  the  west  is  surprisingly 
great.  ^^ 

"  This  is  a  fitting  place  to  pay  a  deserved  tribute  to  Albert  Gallatin 
for  a  work  in  the  cause  of  geographical  knowledge  which  seems  to 
have  attracted  very  little  attention,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  accom- 
panies that  writer's  celebrated  Synopsis  of  the  Indian  Tribes  of  North 
America,  which  forms  the  basis  of  all  later  work  upon  the  ethnography 
and  philology  of  the  American  Indians.  In  this  work  Gallatin  discusses 
the  geography  of  the  Far  West  with  the  new  light  which  he  had  obtained 
from  Gen.  Ashley  and  Jedediah  S.  Smith.  Ashley  sent  him  a  '^manu- 
script map  accompanied  with  numerous  explanatory  notes,"  and  he 
also  secured  a  statement  from  Smith  as  to  the  latter's  observations.  The 
result  of  this  information,  which  Gallatin  embodied  in  a  map  prepared 
and  drawn  by  himself,  was  to  settle  many,  and  in  fact  nearly  all,  the 
important  unknown  and  disputed  questions  in  regard  to  the  geography 
of  the  western  portion  of  what  is  now  United  States  territory.  Among 
the  points  especially  noted  were  the  following:  That  the  sources  of 
the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte  were  not  above  39  degrees  north  latitude ; 
that  the  sources  of  the  Colorado  of  the  West  were  as  far  north  as  43 
degrees ;  that  Lake  Timpanago,  or  Great  Salt  Lake,  had  no  outlet  to  the 
Pacific  ocean  and  no  tributary  on  its  west  shore,  but  two  important  ones 
from  the  east ;  that  there  was  another  salt  lake  without  cm  outlet  about 
80  miles  south  of  the  southernmost  point  of  Great  Salt  Lake ;  that  the 
course  of  the  far-famed  Buenaventura  river,  which  was  long  supposed 
to  drain  some  great  central  lake,  was  confined  to  the  Pacific  coast,  and, 
far  from  being  east  and  west,  was  in  reality  from  north  to  south ;  that 
the  Multanomah,  or  Willamette  river,  long  supposed  to  rise  near  Great 
Salt  Lake,  was  also  a  Pacific  coast  stream  only ;  that  the  Owyhee  river 
took  its  rise  west  of  and  at  no  great  distance  from  the  Great  Salt  Lake; 
and  finally  that  the  whole  country  between  Great  Salt  Lake  and  the 
Sierra  Nevada  mountains  was  of  sandy,  desert  character  with  only  a 
few  wild  Indians,  "the  most  miserable  objects  in  creation." 

When  it  is  considered  that  this  information  was  given  to  the  world 
in  1836,  a  year  before  Captain   Bonneville's  map,  which  claims  credit 


2o8  WORK  OF  EXPLORATION. 

But  perhaps  the  most  important  service  which  the  com- 
pany rendered  its  country  was  as  a  school  for  the  education 
of  those  who  were  later  to-^^t^st-the  government  in  the 
exploration  of  the  West.  It  was  to  the  old  members  and 
employes  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  that  the 
government  looked  mainly  for  its  guides  when  it  entered 
those  regions  for  the  first  time.  It  owes  them  a  debt  which 
the  salaries  paid  for  their  services  very  inadequately  meas- 
ure. 

for  nearly  all  of  it,  was  published,  one  may  easily  judge  of  its  importance 
in  the  evolution  of  our  Western  geography.  We  shall  further  treat  of 
this  matter  in  our  sketch  of  Captain  Bonneville's  work. 

For  a  resume  of  existing  knowledge  concerning  the  discovery  of 
Great  Salt  Lake  see  Part  V.,  Chapter  IV. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE    AMERICAN    FUR    COMPANY. 
ESTABLISHMENT    OF   THE    WESTERN    DEPARTMENT. 

Astor   purchases   interest   in   Mackinaw    Company  —  Foreigners    ex-v. 
eluded  from  the  United  States  fur  trade  —  Astor  buys  out  Northwest       \^ 
interests  in  United  States  —  The  Mackinaw  letter  books  —  Farnham's         \ 
outfit    confiscated  —  Suit    against    Colonel    Chambers  —  Opposition    of         j 
St.    Louis   traders  —  Russell    Farnham  —  Negotiations   with    St.    Louis       / 
parties  —  Western  Department  established  at   St.  Louis.  \^4  '^^   ■^"^^""^ 

*^  HE  American  Fur  Company  was  incorporated  by  Act 
^^  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  April  6,  1808.  Mr. 
Astor  was  the  company  and  the  incorporation  was  merely 
"  a  fiction  intended  to  broaden  and  facilitate  his  opera- 
tions." Hitherto  Mr.  Astor's  relation  to  the  trade  had  been 
rather  that  of  a  merchant,  buying  from  the  producers  and 
shipping  to  various  parts  of  the  world  for  sale  to  the  con-  ; 

sumers.  He  now  began  to  enter  the  trade  on  a  broader 
scale,  producing  the  furs  by  means  of  his  own  operations  in 
the  field.  But  in  his  efforts  to  establish  himself  in  the  re- 
gion along  the  Great  Lakes,  then  the  richest  fur  country  yet 
opened  up  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  he  encoun- 
tered a  formidable  obstacle  in  the  presence  of  the  Mackinaw 
Company  whose  headquarters  were  at  Michilimackinac,  in 
the  strait  between  Lakes  Huron  and  Michigan.  Although 
there  were  no  longer  British  troops  south  of  the  boundary, 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  did  not  exclude  British  traders, 
and  the  Mackinaw  Company  had  firmly  established  itself  in 
all  the  country  about  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  headwaters  of 
the  Mississippi.  In  order  to  neutralize  to  some  extent  the 
power  of  this  company  Mr.  Astor  found  it  necessary  to  pur- 


3IO  THE    SOUTHWEST    COMPANY. 

chase  an  interest  in  it.  He  was  doubtless  enabled  to  do  this 
because  the  British  traders  understood  that  it  was  in  line 
with  the  wishes  of  the  American  government,  and  they  pre- 
ferred to  yield  a  share  of  their  business  to  American  traders 
rather  than  lose  it  all  as  they  might  do  if  Congress  should 
exclude  foreigners  from  the  trade  within  the  United  States. 
Accordingly  Mr.  Astor  and  certain  partners  of  the  North- 
west Company  bought  out  the  Mackinaw  Company  and  or- 
ganized a  new  association  under  Mr.  Astor's  charter  and 
called  it  the  Southwest  Company.^  The  name  was  given  in 
contradistinction  to  the  British  Company  which  did  business 
in  the  country  to  the  north  and  west.  Under  this  arrange- 
ment Mr.  Astor  held  a  two-thirds  interest  in  the  trade  within 
the  United  States  with  the  understanding  that  it  was  all  to 
fall  into  his  hands  at  the  expiration  of  five  years.  Scarcely 
had  the  new  arrangement  gone  into  effect  when  its  opera- 
tions were  suspended  by  the  War  of  1812. 

Another  comprehensive  enterprise  which  Mr.  Astor  or- 
ganized under  his  general  charter  was  the  Pacific  Fur  Com- 
pany whose  career  has  already  been  sketched  in  these  pages. 
This  enterprise  also  was  ruined  by  the  war  and  Mr.  Astor 
found  himself  in  181 5  scarcely  a  whit  advanced  in  his 
schemes  over  three  years  before.  He  now  began  to  gather 
up  the  scattered  fragments  pf  his  business  on  the  lakes. 
The  better  to  advance  his  interests  In  this  quarter  he  urged, 
and  was  largely  instrumental  in,  the  passage  of  an  Act  by 
Congress  excluding  foreigners  from  participating  in  the  fur 
trade  of  the  United  States  except  in  subordinate  capacities 
under  American  traders.  After  the  passage  of  this  Act, 
April  29,  181 6,  It  became  necessary  for  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany to  relinquish  their  interests  on  American  territory. 
Mr.  Astor  stood  ready  to  accommodate  them  in  this  regard 
and  it  has  often  been  said  that  he  seized  the  opportunity  to 

^  The  names  of  the  Mackinaw  traders  seem  to  have  been  Cameron, 
Fraser,  Dickson,  and  Rolette,  the  last  two  becoming  prominent  at  a 
later  date  in  the  American  Fur  Company.  Astor  gave  them  a  one- 
third  interest  in  the  new  Southwest  Company. 


THE    MACKINAW    LETTER    BOOKS.  3II 

recoup  himself  for  the  losses  forced  upon  him  by  that  com- 
pany on  the  Pacific  in  1813.  Be  that  as  it  may  the  American 
Fur  Company  succeeded  to  the  interests  of  the  Northwest 
and  Southwest  Companies  in  1816  and  in  the  following-  year 
the  new  organization  went  into  effect." 

The  field  of  operations  which  had  its  base  at  Mackinaw 
and  embraced  the  region  of  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  upper 
Mississippi,  and,  what  is  not  generally  known,  a  consider- 
able tract  of  territory  on  the  east  shore  of  Lake  Huron,  is 
not  within  the  scope  of  this  work.  It  is  referred  to  here 
only  to  show  the  course  of  events  connecting  the  operations 
of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  with  those  of  the  Western  De- 
partment of  the  American  Fur  Company  with  headquarters 
at  St.  Louis.  But  as  nearly  ten  years  elapsed  from  the 
downfall  of  Astoria  to  the  final  establishment  of  Mr.  Astor's 
business  at  St.  Louis,  a  brief  outline  of  intervening  events  is 
essential  to  a  proper  exposition  of  the  subject.  Luckily  the 
necessary  data  for  such  an  outline  are  still  extant  in  the  form 
of  two  ponderous  letter  books  of  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany which  the  visitor  at  Mackinaw  Island  may  now  see  in 
the  John  Jacob  Astor  Hotel.^  The  letters  are  almost  en- 
tirely those  of  Ramsay  Crooks  and  Robert  Stuart,  the  larger 
part  having  been  written  by  Crooks.  The  books  seem  to 
have  accompanied  Crooks  in  his  travels  between  New  York, 
Michilimackinac  and  St.  Louis,  as  the  many  different  hand- 
writings of  copyists  and  the  varieties  of  ink  used  sufficiently 
attest.  The  first  letter  is  dated  September  18,  1816,  and  the 
last  July  29,  1825 ;  but  the  period  most  thoroughly  covered 
embraces  only  the  years  1817-23,  including,  however,  the 
entire  period  from  the  dissolution  of  the  Southwest  Com- 
pany to  the  establishment  of  the  Western  Department  of  the 

^  Crooks,  in  a  letter  dated  in  May  or  June,  1817,  says :  "  The  business 
of  the  Southwest  Company,  heretofore  conducted  by  Mr.  Pierre  D. 
Rocheblave,  is  now  managed  by  myself,  and  in  consequence  a  trans- 
fer has  been  made  of  all  the  property  of  that  concern." 

'  For  an  opportunity  to  examine  these  books  the  author  is  indebted 
to  their  owner,  Mr.  Claude  Cable,  proprietor  of  the  John  Jacob  Astor 
Hotel. 


312  JEALOUSY  OF  ST.  LOUIS  TRADERS. 

American  Fur  Company  in  St.  Louis.  The  course  of  events 
which  led  to  the  final  opening  up  of  the  Missouri  branch  of 
the  trade  will  be  told  as  far  as  possible  in  the  language  of 
these  letters. 

In  the  new  arrangement  the  old  Pacific  Fur  Company- 
partners  and  clerks  came  again  prominently  to  the  front. 
Ramsay  Crooks  became  the  general  agent  of  the  company 
associated  with  Robert  Stuart  on  apparently  equal  terms. 
Russell  Farnham  became  the  company's  chief  representative 
on  the  Mississippi.  W.  W.  Mathews  was  their  agent  in 
Montreal  for  the  hiring  of  employes.  Franchere  was 
offered  a  berth  but  was  forced  to  defer  acceptance  for  a  time 
pending  the  fulfillment  of  a  prior  engagement  with  the 
Northwest  Company.  Of  the  new  men  who  bore  an  impor- 
tant part  in  the  operations  of  the  new  company,  the  most 
prominent  were  the  Abbott  brothers,  James  and  Samuel,  of 
Detroit.  Both  were  able  men  and  both  rendered  the  com- 
pany excellent  service. 

Crooks,  Stuart,  and  Farnham  joined  in  the  campaign  of 
1817.  Crooks  himself  spent  most  of  the  summer  on  Mack- 
inaw Island  organizing  the  business.  No  incident  of  special 
importance  occurred  during  this  year  except  in  the  case  of 
Farnham,  who  had  been  selected  to  manage  the  business  on 
the  Mississippi.  The  long  standing  jealousy  of  the  St. 
Louis  traders  toward  Mr.  Astor's  company  had  been  com- 
municated in  some  degree  to  the  government  officials  sta- 
tioned in  St.  Louis  charged  with  the  conduct  of  Indian 
affairs.  While  the  Act  of  181 6  excluded  British  traders,  it 
did  not  prevent  the  engagement  of  foreigners  in  the  service 
of  American  traders.  The  American  Fur  Company  very 
largely  recruited  its  force  from  Montreal  and  Farnham's 
Mississippi  company  was  composed  mainly  of  Canadians. 
The  authorities  near  St.  Louis  seized  upon  this  fact  as  a 
violation  of  the  law.  The  measures  which  they  took  to 
enforce  the  law  as  they  interpreted  it  are  thus  described  by 
Crooks  in  a  letter  to  Governor  Cass,  dated  New  York,  April 
15,  1818:     "Colonel  Talbot  Chambers  of  the  Rifle  Regi- 


SEIZURE    OF    FARNHAM  S    OUTFIT.  313 

ment,  having  last  summer  thought  proper  to  deny  the  power 
of  the  Agent  of  Indian  Affairs,  acting  under  your  immediate 
orders,  to  grant  foreigners  permission  to  accompany  Amer- 
ican traders  to  the  Mississippi,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding 
those  citizens  in  their  commerce  with  the  Indians  on  that 
stream;  and  refusing  to  recognize  any  other  authority  to 
trade  in  that  country  than  the  hcenses  emanating  from  the 
Governors  of  the  Missouri  and  Ilhnois  territories,  he  seized 
and  sent  down  to  St.  Louis,  in  charge  of  Lieutenant  Blair 
and  a  Sergeant's  guard,  two  boats  belonging  to  the  American 
Fur  Company,  which  were  under  the  command  of  Russell 
Farnham  and  Daniel  Darling,  both  natural  born  citizens  of 
the  United  States."  The  American  Fur  Company  was  not 
accustomed  to  permit  infringements  of  its  rights  by  any 
government  official,  no  matter  how  high.  Suit  was 
promptly  brought  against  Colonel  Chambers,  and  after  liti- 
gation running  through  four  years,  was  decided  in  favor  of 
the  company.'*  Colonel  Thomas  H.  Benton  was  counsel  for 
the  American  Fur  Company  in  this  case.  Crooks  said  in  the 
letter  quoted  in  the  accompanying  footnote  that  the 
verdict  was  especially  gratifying  to  him,  not  on  account  of 
the  award,  but  because  it  exposed  the  unreasonable  persecu- 
tion to  which  the  company  had  been  subjected  by  the  St. 
Louis  parties. 

The  extent  to  which  this  persecution  was  carried  may  be 
inferred  from  the  following  remarks  contained  in  a  letter 
from  Crooks  to  Nicholas  Bolevin  at  Prairie  du  Chien  dated 
at  Michilimackinac  August  9,  1818:  "A  species  of  civil 
war  has  already  been  too  long  waged  by  the  St.  Louis  inter- 
ests against  those  of  the  Lakes.  Our  rights  to  the  Indian 
trade  are  precisely  the  same,  and  surely  the  men  of  Mack- 
inaw are  entitled  to  equal  protection  and  advantage  with 

* "  The  suit  with  Colonel  Chambers  for  the  seizure  of  Farnham's 
boats  in  1817  was  brought  to  a  close  at  the  end  of  last  October,  when 
we  obtained  a  verdict  for  $5,000  damages.  The  Colonel's  '  bar'l '  being 
very  good,  we  are  likely  to  recover  the  amount  awarded  to  us."  Let- 
ter from  Crooks  to  Stuart,  February  8.  1823. 


314  AUTHORITY    TO    ENTER    THE    MISSOURI. 

those  of  the  IlHnois  country.  .  .  .  We  ask  nothing  for 
ourselves,  from  either  the  civil  or  military  authorities  of 
the  country,  which  we  would  for  a  moment  wish  to  be  with- 
held from  the  others.  We  are  fully  entitled  to  equal  priv- 
ileges with  our  opponents,  and  we  can  never  consent  to  have 
them  abridged  or  in  any  manner  impaired." 

Still  further  in  evidence  of  the  same  bitter  feeling  against 
the  American  Fur  Company  are  the  following  instructions 
to  Farnham  when  he  was  about  to  start  on  one  of  his  expe- 
ditions to  the  Mississippi :  "  You  must  not  listen  to  the 
thousand  stories  and  perhaps  threats  you  will  hear,  for  such 
things  will  be  attempted  with  a  view  to  checking  your  activ- 
ity and  enterprise.  ...  Be  extremely  cautious  in 
giving  vent  to  the  hard  things  you  may  and  will  feel  inclined 
to  say  of  some  people  you  will  have  to  deal  with  in  the  course 
of  your  absence  from  this  place ;  for,  be  assured,  every  word 
affecting  these  great  men  will  be  treasured  up  against  you. 
And  beware  of  others  who  will  try  to  insinuate  themselves 
into  your  confidence  the  better  to  betray  you." 

The  American  Fur  Company  meanwhile  used  its  great 
influence  at  Washington  to  remove  the  legal  difficulties  of 
the  situation  and  eventually  succeeded.  In  a  letter  to  Farn- 
ham written  in  New  York  March  17,  18 19,  Crooks  stated 
that  the  War  Department  had  at  last  cleared  up  the  con- 
struction of  the  law  in  regard  to  the  introduction  of  foreign- 
ers and  the  territorial  extent  of  licenses  and  that  the  St. 
Louis  officials  had  been  directed  to  recognize  the  validity  of 
the  licenses  of  the  Mackinaw  traders.  "  You  may  ascend 
the  Missouri  with  your  Mackinaw  men,"  he  writes,  "  in 
perfect  confidence.  Governor  Clark  has  the  order  about 
respecting  your  licenses  and  so  has  Colonel  Chambers.  I 
met  with  Mr.  Benjamin  O' Fallon  in  Washington.  He  is 
appointed  agent  for  the  Missouri,  and  is,  I  believe,  con- 
vinced that  all  the  reports  so  industriously  circulated  about 
Mr.  Astor  and  his  agents,  which  created  such  unheard-of 
prejudices  against  us,  and  did  us  so  much  injury  with  the 
officers,  were  invented  and  propagated  by  people  who  feared 


RUSSELL    FARNHAM.  315 

US,  and  labored  to  drive  us  by  this  means  from  the  country. 
On  the  whole  we  have  now  reason  to  believe  that 
this  reign  of  persecution  is,  if  not  at  an  end,  at  least  very 
nearly  so.  .  .  .  There  is  nothing  to  prevent  your  going 
into  the  Missouri  now  with  your  Canadians."  ^ 

°  Farnham's  first  essays  up  the  Missouri  river  were  only  as  far  as 
to  the  mouth  of  Grand  river,  where  he  left  the  Missouri  to  visit  the 
Sac  Indians.  Nevertheless,  to  him  belongs  the  credit  of  being  the 
first  trader  in  the  employ  of  the  American  Fur  Company  to  carry  the 
business  of  that  company  into  the  valley  of  the  Missouri. 

Russell  Farnham  was  a  typical  frontiersman  of  the  better  class. 
He  first  comes  to  our  notice  as  a  clerk  in  the  Pacific  Fur  Company, 
and  one  of  the  Astorians  who  sailed  in  the  Tonquin.  He  was  a  "  Green 
Mountain  Boy"  of  great  energy,  pluck,  and  perseverance.  His  career 
at  Astoria  was  full  of  adventure.  He  was  one  of  a  party  who  pur- 
sued and  captured  a  number  of  deserters  in  November,  181 1.  He  was 
in  the  Indian  fight  at  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia  when  Reed's  tin 
box  was  stolen.  He  helped  build  the  post  at  Spokane  and  spent  the 
winter  of  1812-13  among  the  Flatheads.  He  was  executioner  of  the 
Indian  whom  Clarke  ordered  hung  for  theft,  June  ist,  1813.  Upon  the 
downfall  of  Astoria  he  sailed  with  Hunt  on  the  Pcdlcr;  was  landed  at 
Kamchatka ;  made  his  way  overland  to  Hamburg,  and  sailed  thence 
to  New  York.  Crooks,  referring  to  Farnham's  life  on  the  Columbia, 
once  said  that  "  he  underwent  greater  privations  than  any  half  dozen 
of  us." 

When  the  American  Fur  Company  began  to  resume  operations  after 
the  War  of  1812,  Farnham  entered  its  service  and  bore  the  brunt  of 
the  battle  during  the  company's  struggle  to  establish  itself  on  the 
Missouri.  All  that  is  known  of  him  in  this  new  field  is  given  in  the 
present  chapter.  He  did  good  work  and  was  respected  alike  by  his 
employers  and  opponents. 

Farnham  continued  in  the  service  of  the  company  until  1832,  when 
he  fell  a  victim  to  the  cholera  and  died  at  St.  Louis,  October  30th  of 
that  year.  Crooks  thus  refers  to  his  death  in  a  letter  to  Pierre  Chou- 
teau, Jr.,  written  in  New  York  November  i6th,  1832 :  "  Poor  Farn- 
ham; he  has  paid  the  debt  of  nature  after  a  life  of  uncommon  activity 
and  endless  exposure.  Peace  to  his  manes !  He  was  one  of  the  best 
meaning,  but  the  most  sanguine  men  I  almost  ever  met  with.  During 
all  the  ravages  of  the  pestilence  here,  and  the  unexpected  rapidity 
with  which  some  of  my  friends  were  hurried  to  their  long  account, 
I  never  felt  anything  like  the  sensation  I  experienced  upon  hearing  of 
my  honest  friend's  death,  for  I  did  not  know  he  was  at  St.  Louis, 
and  thought  him  safe  in  some  part  of  the  wilderness." 


3l6  NEGOTIATIONS    WITH    ST.    LOUIS    TRADERS. 

It  is  not  to  be  inferred  that  during  all  these  years,  while 
Crooks  was  pushing  his  operations  in  the  field  farther  and 
farther  to  the  westward,  Mr,  Astor  made  no  attempt  to 
establish  a  branch  house  in  St.  Louis  nor  others  to  interest 
him  there.  The  firm  of  Berthold,  Chouteau  and  Company 
had  more  than  once  considered  the  question  of  purchasing 
an  interest  in  Mr.  Astor's  business,  but  had  never  come  to 
any  definite  arrangement.  Crooks  became  tired  of  dallying 
in  the  matter  and  thus  expressed  his  feeling  to  Mr.  Astor, 
at  that  time  in  Europe,  under  date  of  July  2"],  1820:  "  To 
address  Messrs.  Berthold  and  Chouteau  on  a  subject  so  often 
canvassed,  appears  to  me  more  than  useless,  as  their  conduct 
has  hitherto  betrayed  such  indecision  that  small  hopes  ought 
to  be  entertained  of  their  determination  now.  Perhaps  the 
appearance  of  David  Stone  and  Company  at  St.  Louis  may 
rouse  them  from  their  fancied  security  and  turn  their  atten- 
tion seriously  this  way.  Lest  that  should  be  the  case,  and  to 
clear  myself  from  all  blame,  I  shall  in  a  few  days  write  them 
and  request  an  immediate  and  specific  reply  at  New  York." 

The  new  firm  of  Stone  and  Company,  to  which  allusion  is 
here  made,  was  having  a  career  of  such  rapid  prosperity  as 
to  alarm  the  St.  Louis  traders  and  even  to  excite  the  appre- 
hensions of  the  American  Fur  Company  itself.  What 
became  of  its  efi'orts  will  presently  appear,  but  it  will  first  be 
of  interest  to  present  Mr.  Crooks'  letter  to  Berthold  and 
Chouteau  which  he  promised  but  a  moment  ago.  It  is  a 
model  in  its  way  and  displays  to  advantage  the  confidence 
of  the  American  Fur  Company  in  the  ultimate  success  of  its 
undertaking.  After  reciting  that  he  had  been  informed  of  a 
recent  proposition  by  Mr.  Berthold  to  Mr.  Astor's  son  to 
purchase  an  interest  in  the  American  Fur  Company,  and 
stating  the  conditions  under  which  Mr.  Astor  would  be 
willing  to  sell,  he  urged  an  immediate  reply  with  explicit 
powers  in  order  that  he  might  convey  it  to  Mr.  Astor  on  his 
intended  visit  to  that  gentleman  in  Paris.  He  concluded 
his  letter  as  follows :  "  You  might  perhaps  expect  me  to 
give  an  opinion  of  what  the  business  will  hereafter  be,  but 


ULTIMATUM    TO    BERTHOLD    AND    CHOUTEAU.  317 

I  neither  advise  you  to  join  nor  dissuade  you  frorn  the  under- 
taking. You  know  enough  to  enable  you  to  decide  on  what 
you  ought  to  do,  and  I  can  not  consent  to  be  blamed  should 
my  anticipations  and  the  result  prove  at  variance.  For  my- 
self and  the  gentlemen  here  I  am  permitted  to  say,  we  will 
with  pleasure  pursue  the  same  path  with  you,  but  if  you  will 
not  be  of  our  party,  we  are  determined  on  traveling,  as  here- 
tofore, by  ourselves."  ''' 

To  this  curt  ultimatum  Berthold  and  Chouteau  did  not 
see  fit  to  accede,  and  the  year's  trade  went  on  as  before.  In 
the  following  winter,  1820-21,  Crooks  went  to  Europe  and 
entered  into  arrangements  with  Astor  for  the  next  four 
years.  In  the  meanwhile,  the  field  of  the  Missouri  grew 
more  tempting  than  ever,  and  it  became  the  settled  policy  of 
Crooks  and  Stuart  to  enter  it  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 
In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Astor,  who  was  still  in  Europe,  dated 
Michilimackinac,  July  29,  1821,  Crooks  says:  "I  still 
intend  going  to  St.  Louis  with  a  branch  of  our  concern,  and 
will  draw  from  the  outfit  usually  made  from  this  place  those 
of  the  Illinois,  the  lower  Mississippi  and  the  Wabash  coun- 
try. The  balance  of  the  business  can  be  transacted  here 
advantageously."     In  pursuance  of  this  policy  he  wrote  to 

'  As  further  illustrating  the  confidence  of  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany agents,  the  following  incident  may  be  cited.  In  the  winter  of 
1818-19  the  firm  of  Cabanne  and  Company  of  which  Manuel  Lisa  seems 
to  have  been  either  a  partner  or  principal  agent,  was  dissolved,  and 
both  Lisa  and  one  Dennis  Julien  applied  to  Mr.  Crooks  for  an  outfit 
of  goods,  apparently  with  the  intention  of  embarking  in  independent 
enterprises.  Although  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  American  Fur 
Company  was  unable  to  comply  with  these  requests,  or  that  it  would 
have  been  unwilling  in  ordinary  circumstances  to  do  so,  Crooks  now 
viewed  the  matter  in  a  different  light.  He  was  willing  to  forego  the 
advantages  of  this  temporary  trade  rather  than  place  himself  under 
further  obligations  to  the  St.  Louis  traders,  or  do  anything  which 
might  interfere  with  him  when  the  proper  opportunity  arrived  to  seize 
upon  the  Missouri  trade.  He  therefore  replied  adroitly  that  "  it  is  now 
too  late  to  procure  an  additional  supply  from  abroad.  Nothing  prop- 
er for  your  purpose  can  be  procured  here,  with  the  exceptions  of 
some  articles  of  minor  importance,  and  it  will  consequently  be  out  of 
my  power  to  meet  your  wishes." 


3l8  CREDITABLE    CONDUCT    OF    MR.    ASTOR. 

Samuel  Abbott,  who  was  managing  the  company's  business 
at  Prairie  du  Chien  on  the  Mississippi,  under  date  of  October 
25,  1821  :  "  Unless  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  you  to 
remain  at  Prairie  du  Chien  it  is  our  wish  that  you  proceed 
this  fall  to  St.  Louis,  there  to  remain  until  you  obtain  a 
complete  list  of  the  goods  usually  found  in  the  retail  estab- 
lishments at  that  place.  Ascertain  everything  that  may  be 
of  advantage  to  us,  and,  as  soon  thereafter  as  may  be  con- 
venient to  yourself,  pursue  your  journey  to  New  York.  . 
The  state  of  the  fur  trade  generally,  and  that  of  the 
Missouri  particularly,  will  be  very  desirable,  more  especially 
when  coupled  with  the  resources  of  the  individuals  who  are 
engaged  in  the  business,  as  also  their  standing  with  the 
world." 

On  the  30th  of  November,  1821,  Crooks  thus  wrote  to 
Mr.  Astor :  "  Preliminary  arrangements  are  made  for 
prosecuting  the  trade  of  St.  Louis  and  the  Missouri  next 
season.  Berthold  and  Chouteau,  with  all  their  advantages, 
have  suffered  the  firm  of  Stone  &  Co.  to  get  the  better  of 
them  more  effectually  than  could  have  been  believed,  and  as 
there  is  no  injunction  to  the  contrary,  we  may  as  well  come 
in  for  a  share  of  the  business.  .  .  .  You  now  do  no 
business  with  them  worth  attending  to,'^  and  any  scruples 
we   have  heretofore   entertained   in   regard   to   embarking 

^This  refers  to  Mr.  Astor's  relations  with  certain  traders  in  St. 
Louis  which  had  in  part  deterred  him  from  entering  the  field  against 
them.  It  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  Mr.  Astor  that  he  never  stooped 
to  the  petty  competition  which  was  such  a  constant  feature  of  the  fur 
trade  in  those  years.  He  stood  on  higher  ground  in  those  matters 
than  his  agents  ever  did,  possibly  because  he  was  more  removed  from 
the  field  of  actual  operations.  He  was  supplying  with  goods  certain 
St.  Louis  firms  whose  trade  lay  up  the  Missouri,  and  he  therefore 
scrupulously  avoided  entering  the  same  field  of  operations  with  them. 
Thus,  in  a  letter  to  Farnham  dated  December  28,  1818,  Crooks  ex- 
presses regret  that  Farnham  had  entered  the  country  of  the  Sac  Indians 
by  the  route  of  the  Missouri  and  Grand  rivers,  instead  of  by  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  the  Des  Moines ;  "  for,"  said  he,  "  although  no  agreement 
exists  between  us  and  Messrs.  Cabanne  &  Company,  to  prevent  our 
going  into  that  river  or  they  into  the  Mississippi,  still,  as  Mr.  Astor 
supplies  their  goods,  they  partly  calculated  on  our  not  opposing  them." 


ABOLITION    OF    GOVERNMENT    FACTORIES.  319 

in  their  portion  of  the  trade,  ought  not  to  be  indulged  in 
any  longer.  Besides,  their  apathy  or  bad  management  in 
opposing  Stone  begins  to  enlarge  his  views,  and  has  already 
tempted  him  to  commence  a  competition  with  our  outposts 
on  the  lower  Mississippi ;  so  that,  independent  of  other  con- 
siderations, self  defense  will  lead  us  into  the  field  against 
him.  I  shall  not,  however,  for  the  first  year  attempt  much. 
My  intention  is  merely  to  supply  our  lower  Mississippi  and 
Illinois  river  outfits  from  St.  Louis,  and  tamper  with  the 
Missouri  traders  on  a  moderate  scale,  in  order  to  secure 
them  for  the  following  year.  .  .  .  Without  being  very 
sanguine,  I  feel  so  favorably  toward  the  undertaking  as  to 
make  me  enter  it  with  great  confidence  of  success." 

On  the  2nd  of  July,  1821,  the  British  Parliament  passed 
an  act  which  virtually  excluded  American  traders  from 
Canadian  territory.  The  American  Fur  Company  accord- 
ingly withdrew  its  outposts  from  the  region  to  the  east  of 
Lake  Huron,  but  promptly  made  a  counter  move  along  the 
frontier  from  Lake  Superior  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  by 
establishing  three  posts  there  in  competition  with  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company. 

In  the  winter  of  1821-22  the  American  Fur  Company 
made  a  very  important  move  in  securing  the  abolition  by 
Congress  of  the  United  States  factories  for  trading  with  the 
Indians.  This  achievement,  which  has  been  fully  consid- 
ered in  another  place,  removed  government  competition  in 
the  trade,  and  left  the  company  wath  a  free  hand  to  fight  its 
battles  with  the  private  traders. 

In  the  spring  of  1822  Crooks  prepared  to  put  his  ideas  into 
effect  by  opening  up  an  establishment  at  St.  Louis.  He 
wrote  to  Astor,  April  23,  1822  :  "  I  regret  beyond  measure 
that  our  fastidiousness  about  interfering  with  our  St.  Louis 
friends  induced  us  to  postpone  until  the  present  time  any 
attempt  to  participate  in  the  Missouri  trade."  And  later  in 
the  same  letter  he  adds :  "  Mr.  Samuel  Abbott  goes  to  St. 
Louis  to  remain  in  charge  of  our  concerns  there."  In  a 
letter  from  Crooks  to  Stuart  of  April  10,  1822,  occurs  the 


r  ■■•. 
i 


320  THE    WESTERN    DEPARTMENT. 

first  mention  that  has  fallen  under  our  observation  of  the  use 
of  the  name  Western  Department  as  applied  to  the  St.  Louis 
interests  of  the  American  Fur  Company. 

It  was  therefore  in  the  year  1822  (not  1819,  as  has  been 
generally  given  by  historians)  that  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany established  its  Western  Department  at  St.  Louis,  and 
gave  to  its  previous  field  of  operations  the  name  of  the 
Northern  Department.  Samuel  Abbott  was  the  first  person 
in  charge  of  the  new  business  at  St.  Louis,  while  Robert 
Stuart  remained  at  Michilimackinac.  The  Western  Depart- 
ment was  confined  to  the  Missouri  and  the  lowqr  posts  on 
the  Mississippi  and  the  Illinois.  With  the  Northern  Depart- 
ment, which  embraced  the  region  of  the  Great  Lakes  and 
the  upper  Mississippi,  we  shall  have  nothing  to  do  farther 
except  as  it  may  incidentally  fall  in  our  way. 


/ 
/ 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  AMERICAN  FUR  COMPANY. 
THE   UPPER   MISSOURI   OUTFIT. 

Consolidation  with  Stone,  Bostwick  and  Company  —  Arrangement 
with  the  St.  Louis  traders  —  Sketch  of  the  Columbia  Fur  Company  — 
Rivalry  with  the  American  Fur  Company  —  Union  with  American  Far 
Company  —  Importance  of  this  union  —  Movement  toward  the  upper 
river  —  Establishment  of  Fort  Union  —  Commencement  of  the  moun- 
tain trade  —  Henry  Vanderburgh  —  Attempt  to  open  a  trade  with  the 
Blackfeet  —  The  mission  of  Berger  —  Blackfeet  visit  Fort  Union  —  A 
trader  sent  to  the  Blackfeet  —  Treaty  of  peace  between  the  Blackfeet 
and  the  Assiniboines  —  Establishment  of  Fort  Piegan  —  Successful 
trade  at  this  post  —  Mitchell  builds  Fort  McKenzie  —  Tulloch  builds 
Fort  Cass  on  the  Yellowstone  —  Upper  country  all  occupied  by  end 
of  1832  —  Business  changes  —  Proposition  to  introduce  steamboats 
in  the  trade  —  The  Yellowstone  built  —  Voyages  of  1831  and  1832  — 
Their  importance  in  the  history  of  the  Missouri  —  Impression  upon  the 
Indians  —  British  influence  on  the  Upper  Missouri  —  History  of  the 
Astor   medals. 

'^'HE  American  Fur  Company  was  thus  finally  estab- 
^^  lished  at  St.  Louis  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  the  St. 
Louis  traders.  It  was  there  without  connection  or  depend- 
ence upon  any  of  them.  But  it  would  still  require  a  great 
deal  of  adroit  management  and  much  hard  work  before  its 
hold  on  the  Missouri  trade  could  be  made  secure.  There 
was  the  solid  opposition  of  the  local  traders  to  contend  with, 
and  there  had  lately  arisen  the  formidable  concern  of  David 
Stone  and  Company,  or,  as  it  was  also  called.  Stone,  Bost- 
wick and  Company.  Finally  a  Boston  company,  whose 
name  is  omitted  from  the  correspondence,  had  recently 
entered  the  field  with  a  great  show  of  strength.  So  many 
houses  could  not  all  prosper  on  the  amount  of  business  at 


322  BERNARD    PRATTE    AND    COMPANY. 

that  time  in  sight,  and  it  was  clear  that  there  must  be  a  com- 
bination of  interests  by  which  some  of  the  companies  would 
survive  and  others  be  forced  from  the  field. 

The  first  step  toward  a  consolidation  is  announced  in  a 
letter  from  Crooks  to  Stuart  dated  New  York,  February  8, 
1823.  It  say's,  "among  other  things,  that  "  Messrs.  Stone, 
Bostwick  and  Company  have  been  admitted  into  the  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company  to  commence  the  ist  of  April  next  and 
continue  three  and  one-half  years,  which  is  six  months 
longer  than  our  agreement  with  Mr.  Astor.^  .  .  For 
the  present,  you  will  take  charge  of  the  Detroit  Department, 
and  Mr.  Bostwick  will  manage  at  St.  Louis,  where  I  will 
assist  him  next  summer."  Abbott  was  also  to  operate  with 
Bostwick  in  St.  Louis.  This  was  welcome  news  to  Stuart, 
who  wrote  to  David  Stone,  May  19,  1823  :  "  Permit  me  to 
w^elcome  you  as  a  member  of  the  American  Fur  Company. 
I  think  you  have  all  acted  wisely;  but  if  the  junction  had 
been  formed  five  years  ago,  there  would  have  been  cause 
for  mutual  congratulation." 

The  arrangement  with  Stone,  Bostwick  and  Company  ran 
through  the  agreed  three  and  one-half  years,  and  was  not 
renewed,  but  instead  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Western  Department  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Bernard 
Pratte  and  Company  under  an  agreement  which  was  to 
continue  in  force  for  a  period  of  four  years.^  Thus,  at  the 
very  period  when  General  Ashley's  remarkable  achievements 
were  turning  the  heads  of  the  St.  Louis  traders,  the  Amer- 
ican Fur  Company  formed  its  first  alliance  with  any  of  the 
old    St.    Louis    houses.     Bernard    Pratte    and    Company 

'  Crooks  and  Stuart's  arrangements  thus  continued  until  the  spring 
of  1826,  while  the  agreement  with  Stone,  Bostwick  and  Company  ran 
until  the  fall  of  that  year. 

With  the  letter  next  below  the  Mackinaw  record  closes  and  the  next 
data  upon  the  subject  are  found  in  the  Chouteau  papers  of  St.  Louis. 

^ "  Nous  sommes  fondes  sur  }/2  dans  les  profits  6u  perts  des  ope- 
rations de  traite  pour  le  Mississippi  depuis  le  Prairie  du  Chien  et  de  tout 
le  Missouri  et  de  ses  dependences."  Bernard  Pratte  and  Company  to 
J.    P.   Cabanne,  January  9,    1827. 


THE    COLUMBIA    FUR    COMPANY.  323 

included  some  of  the  strongest  of  the  traders,  among  them 
one  or  more  of  the  Chouteaus.  It  is  only  to  be  regretted 
that  this  inevitable  consummation  did  not  take  place  in 
1809  instead  of  1827. 

Scarcely  had  the  American  Fur  Company  closed  this 
important  arrangement  when  it  was  compelled  to  give  its 
attention  to  a  powerful  opposition  which  had  grown  up  in 
the  field  of  its  operations.  This  was  the  Columbia  Fur 
Company,  an  organization  only  five  years  old,  which  had 
extended  its  trade  through  the  entire  "region  of  the  head- 
waters of  the  Mississippi  as  far  east  as  the  Great  Lakes  and 
as  far  w^est  as  the  Missouri.  The  history  of  this  company 
is  somewhat  obscure,  but  the  more  important  facts  are 
known.  Its  founder  was  Joseph  Renville,  an  old  British 
trader  who  later  served  as  an  officer  during  the  War  of 
1812.  After  the  war  he  retired  on  the  half  pay  of  a  captain 
of  the  line,  and  resumed  his  former  occupation.  Wishing 
to  return  to  his  post  on  the  Red  River  of  the  North  within 
the  territory  of  the  United  States,  but  not  being  permitted 
to  retain  his  pay  if  he  left  British  territory,  he  gave  up  his 
pension  and  went  back  to  his  post.  When  the  amalgama- 
tion of  the  Northwest  and  Hudson  Bay  Companies  took 
place  in  1821,  and  threw  out  of  service  many  of  the  former 
employes  of  these  companies,  Renville  invited  several  of 
the  most  experienced  to  join  him  in  a  new  company.  The 
names  of  those  who  accepted  this  proposal  were  Kenneth 
McKenzie  and  William  Laidlaw.  The  ablest  of  these  asso- 
ciates was  Kenneth  McKenzie,  who  in  a  few  years  rose  to  the 
presidency  of  the  new  company.  As  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  forbade  foreigners  to  engage  in  the  fur  trade  w'ithin 
its  boundaries  on  their  own  account,  the  organization  was 
legalized  by  bringing  in  certain  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
among  them  Daniel  Lamont,  and  placing  it  under  their 
name.  The  legal  title  of  the  firm  was  Tilton  and  Company, 
but  the  name  by  which  it  was  always  known  was  the  Colum- 
bia Fur  Company.  Whether  this  name  was  given  in  token 
of  the  ambitious  schemes  of  the  new  company  and  their 


324  KIPP    AMONG    THE    MANDANS. 

purpose  to  carry  their  trade  to  the  Pacific,  does  not  appear. 

The  capital  of  the  Columbia  Fur  Company  was  not  large, 
but  the  partners  were  all  bold,  experienced,  and  enterprising 
men.  They  rapidly  extended  their  trade  over  a  wide  tract 
of  country.  Their  principal  establishment  was  at  Lake 
Traverse,  almost  exactly  on  the  divide  between  two  impor- 
tant rivers  —  the  St.  Peter's,  a  large  tributary  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  the  Red  River  of  the  North.  Another  post  was 
at  Prairie  du  Chien  on  the  Mississippi,  and  a  third  as  far 
east  as  Green  Bay  on  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Michigan. 
The  most  important  outposts,  however,  were  on  the  Missouri 
river.  In  1823^  James  Kipp  and  a  Mr.  Tilton,  doubtless 
of  the  firm  of  Tilton  and  Company,  visited  the  Mandans, 
and  then  built  a  post  on  the  south  side  of  the  Missouri  above 
the  site  where  Fort  Clark  was  built.  Tilton  was  the  first 
trader  in  charge.  He  and  Kipp  had  a  hard  time  of  it  at 
the  new  post,  for  the  Aricaras,  immediately  after  Colonel 
Leavenworth's  attack  on  their  villages,  had  moved  up  the 
river  and  had  settled  down  opposite  the  Mandans.  Far 
from  being  humbled  by  their  experiences  at  the  hands  of 
Colonel  Leavenworth,  they  were  more  vicious  and  trouble- 
some than  ever,  and  practically  held  the  new  post  in  a  state 
of  siege,  Tilton  and  Kipp  were  forced  to  abandon  it  before 
winter  set  it.  They  built  a  house  in  the  Mandan  village, 
where  they  conducted  their  trade  until  1827.  The  necessary 
supplies  were  brought  in  part  from  Fort  Traverse,  and  in 
part  by  keelboat  from  St.  Louis. 

The  most  important  of  this  company's  posts  on  the 
Missouri  was  just  above  the  mouth  of  the  Teton  river,  or 
the  Little  Missouri,  as  it  was  then  called.  It  bore  the  name 
of  Fort  Tecumseh,  The  American  Fur  Company  also  had 
a  post  here,  but  what  the  name  was  is  not  known.  Still 
farther  down  was  Fort  Lookout,  and  close  by  it  the  Ameri- 

'  This  would  seem  to  be  the  correct  date.  Maximilian  says  it  was 
in  1822,  but  adds  that  it  was  in  the  year  of  the  Leavenworth  cam- 
paign against  the  Aricaras,  which  was  in  1823.  Others  of  Maximilian's 
dates  in  this  connection  are  back  one  year. 


UNION    OF    THE    TWO    COMPANIES.  325 

can  Fur  Company  post,  Kiowa.  Below  this  were  posts  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Niobrara,  James,  and  VermiHon  rivers, 
while  the  lowest  establishment  on  the  river  was  at  Council 
Bluffs.  The  American  Fur  Company  likewise  had  posts 
all  along  this  stretch  of  river,  but  none  so  high  as  the  Man- 
dans.  By  the  close  of  the  year  1826,  when  Bernard  Pratte 
and  Company  assumed  the  agency  of  the  Western  Depart- 
ment, the  American  and  Columbia  Fur  Companies  were  in 
active  competition  with  each  other  through  the  Sioux  and 
Omaha  country.  Both  companies  outfitted  in  St.  Louis,  and 
throughout  the  field  did  business  along  the  same  lines. 
The  Columbia  Fur  Company  had  grown  too  strong  and 
possessed  too  much  ability  to  be  put  down  by  competition, 
and  it  became  necessary  for  the  American  Fur  Company  to 
do  something  else  to  rid  itself  of  an  opposition  which,  ac- 
cording to  Crooks,  did  their  "  business  in  those  countries  an 
annual  injury  of  ten  thousand  dollars  at  least." 

Proposals  were  therefore  made  for  a  union  of  the  two 
companies  and  negotiations  to  this  end  were  completed  about 
July,  1827.^  The  terms  of  the  new  arrangement  were 
advantageous  to  all  concerned,  and  were  an  important  step 
on  the  part  of  the  American  Fur  Company  toward  adjusting 
its  business  to  the  new  situation  upon  which  it  had  entered. 
The  Columbia  Fur  Company  withdrew  altogether  from  the 
region  of  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  upper  Mississippi,  which 
thus  reverted  to  the  Northern  Department  without  opposi- 
tion. On  the  Missouri  a  sub-department  was  created 
including  all  the  valley  above  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Sioux, 
and  the  Columbia  Fur  Company  took  charge  of  this  depart- 
ment almost  without  change  of  organization.  The  partners 
of  the  retiring  company  became  partners  or  proprietors  of 
this^ub-department,  and  McKenzie,  Laidlaw,  and  Lamont 

*  Chouteau  to  Russell  Farnham,  July  11,  1827:  "I  have  at  last  con- 
cluded the  arrangement  [of  consolidation]  with  the  Columbia  Fur 
Company." 

Numerous  other  references  to  this  event  are  found  in  the  correspond- 
ence of  the  summer  of  1827. 


326  THE    UPPER    MISSOURI    OUTFIT. 

conducted  the  affairs  of  the  upper  Missouri  quite  as  inde- 
pendently as  if  they  had  remained  a  separate  company. 

Mr.  Crooks^  in  his  instructions  to  P.  D.  Papin,  whom  he 
sent  up  the  river  to  appraise  with  Mr.  McKenzie  the  prop- 
erty of  the  Cokimbia  Fur  Company,  gave  him  the  follow- 
ing directions :  "  You  will  deliver  to  Mr.  McKenzie  or 
his  agent  the  whole  of  our  property  at  the  different  posts, 
with  all  the  books  and  papers  appertaining  thereto,  and  you 
will  direct  our  people  to  obey  him  in  all  things  as  they  would 
Bernard  Pratte  and  Company.  You  will  give  him  all  the 
information  you  can  relative  to  the  property,  the  condition  of 
our  business,  the  nature  and  state  of  the  accounts,  and  the 
character  of  our  people  individually."  The  arrangement 
with  the  American  Fur  Company  was  therefore  more  in  the 
nature  of  a  union  than  an  amalgamation.  The  name 
Columbia  Fur  Company  was  dropped  and  in  its  place  arose 
the  unpretentious  business  style  of  "  Upper  Missouri  Outfit," 
or  in  brief,  "  U.  M.  O."  In  all  the  trade  arrangements  for 
the^next  twenty  years  or  more  this  name  and  division  of 
the  river  were  preserved.^ 

The  transfer  of  property  resulting  from  the  union  of  the 
two  companies  was  completed  by  the  end  of  the  year  1827. 
The  inventories  were  turned  over  at  Prairie  du  Chien  Octo- 
ber 10;  at  Council  Bluffs  October  i ;  and  at  Fort  Tecumseh 
December  5.  The  valuation  of  the  Columbia  Fur  Company 
property  at  the  various  posts  on  the  Missouri  was  a  little 
over  seventeen  thousand  dollars.  The  entire  transaction 
was  thus  completed  and  the  new  arrangement  went  into  full 
effect  with  the  beginning  of  the  year  1828. 

This  event  was  the  most  important  in  the  history  of  the 
Western  Department  of  the  American  Fur  Company  for  it 
made  that  department  by  far  the  most  powerful  trading 

'  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  this  division  of  the  valley  of  the  Mis- 
souri has  characterized  the  history  of  the  river  in  one  respect  or  an- 
other to  the  present  day.  In  the  government  control  and  improvement 
of  the  river  there  are  now  two  districts  whose  dividing  line  is  at 
Sioux   City,   Iowa. 


MOVEMENT    UP    THE    MISSOURI,  327 

concern  on  the  river.  Thereafter  the  "  company  "  always 
meant,  among  the  fur  traders  of  the  West,  the  American  Fur 
Company,  and  all  others  were  mere  "  opposition "  com- 
panies. This  supremacy  it  maintained  until  it  went  out 
of  business  altogether  over  thirty  years  afterward. 

-At  the  time  of  the  transfer  of  the  Columbia  Fur  Company, 
General  Ashley  had  just  received  the  third  of  his  phenome- 
nal collections  of  beaver  skins  from  beyond  the  mountains. 
His  successes  made  a  profound  impression  at  St.  Louis,  and 
it  was  the  ambition  of  the  American  Fur  Company  to  invade 
those  regions  from  which  wealth  was  being  so  easily 
extracted.  It  was  Kenneth  McKenzie's  desire  to  enter  the 
mountain  business  at  once  and  he  laid  before  the  manage- 
ment in  St.  Louis  a  carefully  concerted  plan  of  operations 
for  the  season  of  1828.  But  less  sanguine  councils  pre- 
vailed. Ashley's  performance  was  regarded  as  too  extraor- 
dinary to  be  capable  of  general  imitation,  and  the  company 
thought  it  better  to  go  a  little  slow  and  first  establish  a  per- 
manent post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  which  would 
afford  a  safe  and  convenient  base  for  the  operations  of  the 
upper  country.  McKenzie  was  selected  for  this  purpose, 
after  Pierre  Chouteau,  with  great  gentleness  and  considera- 
tion, had  dissuaded  him  from  his  cherished  mountain  enter- 
prise. 

In  the  summer  of  1828  accordingly  a  definite  advance 
toward  the  sources  of  the  Missouri  river  was  commenced. 
The  first  step  naturally  was  to  occupy  that  important  situa- 
tion at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  to  which  natural 
routes  of  travel  converged  from  all  parts  of  the  territory 
beyond.  Here  evidently  would  be  the  central  and  principal 
depot  for  all  the  trade  of  the  upper  country.  It  is  more  than 
possible  that  it  was  this  "  union  at  some  convenient  point 
above,"  referred  to  by  McKenzie  in  discussing  the  trade 
situation,  which  led  him  to  give  the  name  Union  to  the 
establishment  finally  built  there.  It  was  about  September 
15th  that  he  dispatched  the  keelboat  Otter  from  the  Man- 
dans  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  to  establish  a  post 


328  FORT    UNION. 

for  the  Assiniboine  trade.  The  boat  arrived  "  in  sufficient 
time  to  build  a  fort  and  have  all  necessary  preparations  made 
for  security."  ^  Who  it  was  that  McKenzie  sent  to  do  this 
work  is  not  stated  in  the  correspondence,  but  it  was  very 
likely  James  Kipp.  The  date  of  the  beginning  of  the  work 
was  within  two  weeks  of  October  i,  1828.  This  post,  the 
first  that  the  American  Fur  Company  built  above  the  Man- 
dans,  was  not  named  Union,  as  is  generally  supposed,  but 
Fort  Floyd.^  "  Fort  Union  "  was  first  applied  to  a  post 
built  in  the  year  1829,  about  two  hundred  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Yellowstone.  The  correspondence  of  the 
American  Fur  Compan}'-  is  clear  upon  this  point.  But 
before  the  close  of  1830  the  name  "  Floyd  "  had  been  aban- 
doned and  "  Union  "  had  been  permanently  settled  upon 
the  post  at  or  near  the  Yellowstone. 

While  McKenzie  was  establishing  himself  upon  the  upper 
Missouri,  he  was  keeping  his  eye  upon  the  rich  fields  where 
General  Ashley  had  won  his  wealth  and  fame.  He  took 
early  measures  to  open  up  a  business  in  the  mountains  even 
if  he  could  not  personally  attend  to  it.  In  the  fall  of  1828 
he  sent  Etienne  Provost  to  look  up  the  trappers  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Fur  Company  with  a  view  to  bringing  them  in  to 
Fort  Floyd.  This  was  no  doubt  congenial  work  to  Provost, 
who,  as  we  have  seen,  had  fallen  out  with  Ashley  and  his 
associates  in  the  summer  of  1826.  In  the  fall  of  1828  old 
Hugh  Glass  came  to  Fort  Floyd  and  said  that  he  had  been 
deputed  by  the  free  trappers  to  invite  McKenzie  to  bring 
goods  to  a  rendezvous  designated  by  them  for  trade  after  the 
spring  hunt  of  1829.  To  meet  these  hunters  a  party  was 
organized  under  Henry  Vanderburgh,  and  left  St.  Louis  in 
April,  1829,  with  thirty  men,  twenty-five  horses  and  fifty 
traps.  Not  much  is  known  for  the  next  two  years  of  the 
doings  of  this  intrepid  leader  except  that  he  plunged  at  once 
into  the  heart  of  the  mountains  and  was  as  bold  and  enter- 
prising as  were  any  of  his  rivals  in  the  mountain  company. 

®  McKenzie  to  Chouteau,  Fort  Tecumseh,  December  26,  1828. 
'  See  "  Fort  Union  "  in  list  of  trading  posts,  Appendix  F. 


THE    MOUNTAIN    TRADE.  329 

One  scrap  of  information  shows  that  he  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  Blackfeet  at  an  early  day.  In  the  summer  of 
1830  he  had  a  hard  battle  with  them  in  which  he  was  victo- 
rious though  at  the  loss  of  one  of  his  party.  He  killed  a 
large  number  of  the  Indians.  It  was  only  two  years  later 
that  he  paid  for  this  victory  with  his  own  life. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  American  Fur  Company's 
participation  in  the  fur  trade  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  It 
dates  from  the  year  after  the  termination  of  Bernard  Pratte 
and  Company's  arrangement  with  General  Ashley.  It  did 
not  prove  to  be  an  advantageous  branch  of  the  trade,  but 
rather  a  source  of  infinite  annoyance  in  the  fierce  competition 
which  it  engendered.* 

The  contract  between  the  American  Fur  Company  and 
Bernard  Pratte  and  Company  by  which  the  latter  assumed 
control  of  the  Western  Department  was  to  continue  in  force 
for  four  years.  It  expired  with  the  outfit  for  1829.  In  like 
manner  the  contract  between  the  latter  company  and  Mc- 

"  The  following  extracts  from  letters  from  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr., 
to  Kenneth  McKenzie  will  be  of  interest  in  this  connection.  Septem- 
ter  28,  1827 :  "  I  have  the  satisfaction  to  inform  you  that  our  moun- 
tain expedition  in  connection  with  General  Ashley  has  been  successful 
in  its  trade  by  closing  at  once  the  outfit  and  fortunate  by  having 
reached  the  settlements  in  safety  with  the  whole  returns ;  which  ter- 
minates our  arrangements  with  the  General.  It  therefore  becomes 
necessary  to  learn  from  you  with  the  least  possible  loss  of  time  what 
is  to  be  done  to  prosecute  the  business  in  the  Rocky  mountains,  which 
is  intended  to  be  carried  on  through  the  medium  of  your  Upper  Mis- 
souri Outfit." 

April  25,  1828:  "I  have  no  objection  to  your  going  with  the  first 
expedition,  because  I  consider  it  very  important,  not  only  on  account 
of  the  hunt,  but  even  more  for  the  purpose  of  opening  relations  with 
the  hunting  parties,  whether  of  Ashley,  or  Pilcher,  or  whatever  trader. 
For  three  years  these  enterprises  have  succeeded  well  with  General 
Ashley,  but  with  him  alone.  Many  others,  and  even  he  before  this  time, 
have  met  with  great  disasters.  I  believe  that  there  is  a  great  deal  to 
gain  if  such  an  expedition  succeeds,  but  there  is  also  great  risk  to  run. 
One  of  the  principal  dangers  is  loss  of  horses  at  the  hands  of  the 
Indians.  It  is  necessary  to  be  prudent,  firm,  and  especially  to  exact 
obedience  from  the  engages,  who  are  generally  very  insubordinate. 
The  least  negligence  in  the  care  of  the  horses  may  entail  the  ruin  of 
the  party."  Other  considerations  prevailed,  as  we  have  seen,  and  Mc- 
Kenzie did  not  go  to  the  mountains. 


330  OVERTURES  TO  THE  BLACKFEET. 

Kenzie,  Laidlaw  and  Lament,  as  agents  of  the  Upper 
Missouri  Outfit,  expired  with  the  equipment  for  the  year 
1830.  Both  of  these  contracts  were  renewed  —  the  first  on 
the  22nd  of  March,  1830,  and  the  second  in  August  of  that 
year.  The  renewals  in  both  cases  were  for  four  years.  The 
firm  of  Bernard  Pratte  and  Company  included  Bernard 
Pratte,  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  John  P.  Cabanne,  and  B. 
Berthold.  The  terms  of  the  new  agreement  were  practically 
the  same  as  the  old.  The  arrangement  between  the  Western 
Department  and  the  Upper  Missouri  Outfit  was  also  the 
same  as  before,  except  that  McKenzie  was  given  a  higher 
salary.^ 

McKenzie  entered  upon  the  second  period  of  his  work  on 
the  upper  Missouri  with  all  the  energy  of  a  strong  nature 
and  a  full  realization  of  his  magnificent  opportunities. 
Being  now  secure  in  his  position  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow- 
stone, and  having  made  a  definite  beginning  in  the  mountain 
trade,  he  turned  his  attention  toward  the  occupation  of  more 
advanced  territory.  Hitherto  the  country  of  the  Blackfeet 
had  not  been  successfully  occupied  by  any  company.  The 
Missouri  Fur  Company  was  twice  driven  out  with  great 
loss  while  Ashley  and  Henry  in  1822  and  1823  met  with  a 
fimilar  experience.  Even  as  late  as  1830  no  intercourse  of 
any  kind  had  been  opened  up  with  these  Indians  and  they  had 
no  means  of  knowing  the  views  of  American  traders.  They 
were  under  the  influence  of  British  traders,  so  far  as  they 
were  under  any  influence  from  without,  and  this  was  hostile 
to  the  Americans.  The  prospect  of  gaining  a  foothold  in 
their  country  was  therefore  anything  but  reassuring.  But 
as  the  tributaries  of  the  upper  Missouri  were  known  to  be 
rich  in  beaver  it  was  scarcely  to  be  expected  that  a  man  of 

'It  seems  that  McKenzie  was  paid  a  salary  besides  his  share  in  the 
business.  The  renewal  of  the  contract  above  referred  to  is  mentioned 
in  a  letter  from  Chouteau  to  W.  B.  Astor,  August  23,  1830,  in  which 
Mr.  Chouteau  says :  "  The  company  has  renewed  the  contract  with 
McKenzie,  Laidlaw,  and  Lamont  for  four  years  more,  upon  existing 
conditions,  except  that  the  equipment  of  the  U.  M.  O.  is  to  pay  $2,00Q 
annually  to  Mr.  McKenzie  instead  of  $1,500,  as  heretofore." 


berger's  mission  to  the  piegans.  331 

McKenzie's  ambitious  temperament  would  fail  to  find  some 
means  of  drawing  their  wealth  in  his  own  direction. 

It  happened  that  the  desired  opportunity  of  opening  com- 
munication with  the  Blackfeet  came  about  in  quite  an  unex- 
pected way.  McKenzie,  who  had  been  down  the  river  in  the 
summer  of  1830,  returned  to  Fort  Union  in  the  fall.  He 
found  there  an  old  trapper  by  the  name  of  Berger,  who  had 
long  served  with  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  at  their  post 
nearest  the  Blackfoot  country.  Berger  understood  the 
Blackfoot  language  perfectly,  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
tribal  characteristics,  and  knew  many  of  the  Indians  indi- 
vidually. How  he  happened  to  come  to  Fort  Union  and 
enter  the  service  of  the  American  Fur  Company  is  not 
known,  but  there  he  was,  and  a  more  useful  individual  to 
McKenzie's  purpose  he  could  not  have  found  in  the  entire 
West.  McKenzie  promptly  approached  him  with  a  proposal 
that  he  should  visit  the  Blackfeet  and  open  negotiations 
with  them.  It  was  a  dangerous  mission,  and  was  considered 
almost  a  forlorn  hope  by  the  people  at  Fort  Union,  but  Ber- 
ger consented  to  try  it.^*^ 

Berger  set  out  from  Fort  Union  in  the  fall  and  traveled 
some  four  weeks  before  he  saw  any  Indians.  The  party 
carried  a  flag  unfurled  so  that  the  Indians  might  know  at 
a  distance  that  they  were  white  men.  They  finally  found 
a  large  village  on  the  Marias  river,  some  distance  above  the 
mouth.  At  the  sight  of  it  the  little  party  were  so  terror- 
stricken  that  they  wanted  to  turn  back,  but  Berger  persisted 
in  the  purpose  of  his  mission,  and  the  men  followed  his  lead, 
scarcely  expecting  to  be  alive  for  another  hour.  When  they 
were  discovered,  a  number  of  mounted  Indians  started  for 

"  There  are  several  accounts  of  this  expedition,  notably  those  given 
by  Charles  Larpenteur  in  Forty  Years  a  Fur  Trader,  pp.  111-116;  and 
by  James  Stuart  in  contributions  to  Montana  Historical  Society,  Vol.  I., 
p.  84.  These  accounts  differ  widely  in  details,  as  all  narratives  based 
upon  tradition  are  liable  to.  But  the  essential  facts  have  recently 
come  to  light  in  the  American  Fur  Company  correspondence  herewith 
presented,  so  that  the  account  here  given  may  be  considered  as  being 
close  to  the  facts  as  they  occurred. 


332  BERGER  PLEDGES  HIS  SCALP. 

them  at  full  speed.  Berger  halted  his  party  and  himself 
advanced  with  his  flag.  The  Indians  paused  and  Berger 
called  out  his  name.  They  recognized  it,  there  was  a  rush 
to  shake  hands,  and  then  the  little  party  were  welcomed  to 
the  village,  where,  to  their  great  joy,  they  were  received  in 
the  most  hospitable  manner.  How  long  they  remained  is. 
not  known,  but  Berger  finally  succeeded  in  inducing  a  party 
of  about  forty,  including  several  chiefs,  to  accompany  him  to 
Fort  Union.  The  route  was  a  long  one,  and  on  the  way 
the  Indians  began  to  complain  of  the  distance.  Berger  was 
put  to  his  wit's  end  to  prevent  their  turning  back.  Finally, 
when  within  a  day's  march  from  the  post,  tradition  says,  the 
Indians  concluded  to  stop.  Berger  besought  them  to  go  on 
one  day  more  and  told  them  that  if  they  did  not  reach  the 
fort  in  that  time  he  would  give  them  his  scalp  and  all  his 
horses.  This  guaranty  of  good  faith  induced  them  to  keep 
on,  and  sure  enough,  about  3  P.  M.  the  next  day  they 
passed  over  a  river  bluff  and  beheld  in  the  valley  below  the 
fort,  just  as  Berger  had  told  them.  It  was  a  great  feat  that 
Berger  had  accomplished,  and  McKenzie  was  highly  grati- 
fied at  its  successful  outcome. 

The  party  reached  Fort  Union  before  the  end  of  the  year 
1 83 1.  McKenzie  had  a  conference  with  the  chiefs,  and  it 
goes  without  saying  that  that  astute  leader  left  no  stone 
unturned  to  create  a  favorable  impression.  The  Indians 
professed  great  satisfaction  at  the  prospect  of  having  a 
trading  post  near  their  village,  and  as  an  earnest  of  his  pur- 
pose to  establish  one  there  during  the  following  summer, 
McKenzie  sent  a  trader  and  a  few  men  to  trade  with  them 
during  the  winter.  He  completed  this  stroke  of  good  for- 
tune during  the  following  summer  by  bringing  about  a  treaty 
of  peace  and  friendship  between  the  Blackfeet  and  the  Assin- 
iboines  which  promised  protection  to  the  trade  throughout 
this  region.  The  treaty  was  consummated  on  the  29th  day 
of  November,  1831.^^ 

"  Following  is   McKcnzie's  account  of  Bcrger's   successful   visit,  as 
condensed  in  a  letter  to  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  dated  at  Fort  Tecum- 


TREATY  OF  PEACE.  333 

In  accordance  with  this  promise  to  the  Blackfeet  McKen- 
zie  dispatched  an  expedition  up  the  river  in  the  fall  of  1831. 
It  consisted  of  twenty-five  men  under  James  Kipp,  and  left 
Fort  Union  on  the  25th  of  August.  The  progress  was  very 
slow  owing  to  low  water,  and  the  expedition  did  not  pass 
the  mouth  of  the  Muscleshell  until  September  i6th.  In  one 
place  they  only  made  eight  miles  in  eleven  days.  They 
probably  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Marias  and  com- 
menced their  fort  about  the  15th  of  October. 

The  day  before  they  reached  their  destination  a  trader  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company  by  the  name  of  Fisher  approached 
within  a  day's  march  and  sent  a  message  to  the  Piegans  with 
a  flattering  offer  if  they  would  bring  their  trade  to  the 
British  posts.     He  told  them  that  the  chiefs  should  all  be 

seh,  January  7,  183 1 :  "On  my  arrival  at  Fort  Union  last  fall  I 
fortunately  found  a  Blackfoot  interpreter,  Berger,  and  by  this  means 
have  been  enabled  to  make  those  Indians  acquainted  with  my  views 
regarding  them.  I  sent  him  with  four  or  five  men  to  their  village, 
where  they  were  kindly  received  and  well  treated.  On  their  return 
to  the  fort  they  were  accompanied  by  some  of  the  principal  chiefs. 
They  expressed  great  satisfaction  and  pleasure  at  having  a  post  at 
their  village,  which  I  promised  and  assured  them  that  they  should 
have  this  fall ;  and  in  order  to  strengthen  my  promise  I  have  sent  a 
clerk,  with  four  or  five  men,  to  them  to  trade  what  they  may  have. 
It  is  impossible  to  say  what  may  be  the  result  of  this  enterprise,  but 
I  am  very  sanguine  in  my  expectations." 

The  treaty  of  peace  which  McKenzie  concluded  with  the  Blackfeet  in 
the  summer  of  1831,  and  which  all  narratives  of  these  events  mention, 
is  a  singular  document.  It  is  thus  referred  to  in  a  letter  from  McKenzie 
to  Chouteau,  written  at  Fort  Union  December  11,  1831 :  "I  have 
lately  negotiated  a  treaty  of  peace  between  the  Assiniboine  and  Black- 
foot  Indians,  which  I  expect  will  be  ratified.  Exchange  of  tobacco 
has  been  made  and  all  requisite  ceremonies  observed.  If  firm  and 
durable  it  will  be  of  great  importance  to  this  district." 

Maximilian  has  preserved  to  us  a  copy  of  this  treaty,  which  is 
worthy  of  reproduction  for  its  original  and  grandiloquent  phrase- 
ology :  "  We  send  greeting  to  all  mankind !  Be  it  known  unto  all 
nations  that  the  most  ancient,  most  illustrious,  and  most  numerous 
tribes  of  the  redskins,  lords  of  the  soil  from  the  banks  of  the  great 
waters  unto  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  upon  which  the  heavens  rest, 
have  entered  into  a  solemn  league  and  covenant  to  make,  preserve  and 


334  THE    PIEGANS    FRIENDLY. 

well  dressed,  all  their  wants  supplied,  and  that  they  should 
be  given  better  prices  for  their  furs  than  the  Americans,  who 
were  very  poor,  would  give.  Fortunately,  McKenzie  had 
a  trader  present  among  the  Piegans  at  that  time,  the  same 
whom  he  had  sent  among  them  some  months  before,  and  he 
proved  quite  as  influential  as  "  the  smooth-tongued  English- 
man." The  Piegans  seemed  from  the  start  to  be  warmly 
attached  to  the  Americans.  It  was  a  fortunate  circumstance 
for  they  were  the  beaver  hunters  of  their  nation.  They  were 
at  this  time,  says  McKenzie,  very  jealous  of  their  rights,  and 
would  not  permit  white  men  to  set  a  trap  in  their  country. 
This,  however,  far  from  being  a  disadvantage,  was  quite  the 
reverse,  for  the  company  was  spared  all  the  trouble  and  loss 
attendant  upon  trapping  expeditions. 

The  site  selected  by  Kipp  for  the  post  was  immediately  in 

cherish  a  firm  and  lasting  peace,  that  so  long  as  the  water  runs,  or 
the  grass  grows,  they  may  hail  each  other  as  brethren,  and  smoke  the 
calumet  in  friendship  and  security. 

"On  the  vigil  of  St.  Andrew  in  the  year  1831,  the  powerful  and  dis- 
tinguished nation  of  the  Blackfeet,  Piegan,  and  Blood  Indians  by  their 
ambassadors  appeared  at  Fort  Union  near  the  spot  where  the  Yellow- 
stone river  unites  its  current  with  the  Missouri,  and  in  the  council 
chamber  of  the  Governor,  Kenneth  McKenzie,  and  the  principal 
chief  of  the  Assiniboine  nation,  the  Man-that-Holds-the-Knife,  attended 
by  his  chiefs  of  council,  le  Bechu,  le  Borgne,  the  Sparrow,  the  Bear's 
Arm,  La  Terre  qui  Tremble,  and  I'Enfant  de  Medecin,  when,  conform- 
ing to  all  ancient  customs  and  ceremonies,  and  observing  the  due  mysti- 
cal signs  enjoined  by  the  great  medicine  lodges,  a  treaty  of  peace  and 
friendship  was  entered  into  by  the  said  high  contracting  parties,  and 
is  testified  by  their  hands  and  seals  hereunto  annexed,  hereafter  and  for- 
ever to  live  as  brethren  of  one  large,  united,  and  happy  family ;  and 
may  the  Great  Spirit  who  watcheth  over  us  all  approve  our  conduct 
and  teach  us  to  love  one  another. 

"Done,  executed,  ratified,  and  confirmed  at  Fort  Union  on  the  day 
and  year  first  within  written,  in  the  presence  of  Jas.  Archdale  Hamil- 
ton." 

The  treaty  is  signed  by  a  number  of  Assiniboine  chiefs  and  by  jMc- 
Kenzie  on  "  behalf  of  the  Piegans  and  Blackfeet."  The  ratification 
which  McKenzie  speaks  of  in  his  letter  above  doubtless  refers  to  the 
Blackfeet,  who  were  evidently  absent,  from  the  fact  that  McKenzie 
signed  for  them. 


BUILDING    OF    FORT    PIEGAN.  335 

the  angle  between  the  Marias  and  the  Missouri.  When  he 
arrived  no  Indians  were  present,  but  on  the  following  day 
they  appeared  in  great  numbers.  Kipp  requested  them  to 
withdraw  while  he  was  constructing  the  post,  telling  them 
that  if  they  would  return  in  seventy-five  days  he  would  be 
ready  to  receive  them.  They  agreed  to  do  this.  Promptly 
upon  the  expiration  of  the  time  fixed  they  appeared  again 
and  were  astonished  to  find  the  fort  all  completed  and  ready 
for  the  trade.^^  During  the  first  ten  days  after  the  post  was 
built  there  were  traded,  according  to  McKenzie,  two  thou- 
sand four  hundred  beaver  skins  with  the  prospect  of  bring- 
ing the  number  up  to  four  thousand  before  the  winter  was 
over. 

The  British,  meanwhile,  alarmed  at  the  success  of  the 
Americans,  are  said  to  have  instigated  the  Blood  Indians 
to  attempt  the  reduction  of  the  post.  The  attack  occurred 
in  the  winter  time.  Kipp  had  sufficient  warning  to  lay  in 
a  stock  of  ice,  for  he  had  plenty  of  everything  except  water, 
and  had  no  fear  of  a  siege.  The  Indians  beleaguered  the 
post  for  some  time,  but  finally  withdrew.  Kipp  then  turned 
his  own  weapons  of  war  —  the  war  of  the  traders  —  upon 
the  Indians,  and  poured  into  them  incessant  charges  of  alco- 
hol until  the  whole  band  was  utterly  vanquished  and  sur- 
rendered body  and  soul  to  the  incomparable  trader.  Never 
had  the  English  treated  them  so  bountifully.  They  brought 
all  their  furs  to  the  American  post  and  before  spring  a  fine 
lot  had  been  collected. 

In  the  spring  of  1832  it  became  necessary  for  Kipp  to  take 
his  furs  to  Fort  Union.  It  was  the  strong  desire  of  the 
Indians  that  the  fort  should  be  kept  open  during  the  sum- 
mer, but  Kipp's  men  refused  to  remain  if  he  left.  They 
accordingly  abandoned  the  post  and  the  Indians  burned  it 
soon  after.^^ 

"  This  post  was  very  appropriately  named  Fort  Piegan. 

"  Some  of  the  statements  contained  in  this  account  of  the  founding 
of  Fort  Piegan  were  related  by  Kipp  himself  to  Lieutenant  J.  H.  Brad- 
ley, whose  manuscript  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Montana  His- 


336  BUILDING    OF    FORT    m'kENZIE. 

In  the  summer  of  1832  David  D.  Mitchell  was  sent  to  take 
charge  of  affairs  at  the  mouth  of  the  Marias.  Before  he 
had  reached  the  Muscleshell  the  keelboat  Flora,  carrying,  it 
was  said,  thirty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods,  was  lost. 
It  was  swept  from  its  moorings  during  the  night  by  a  storm, 
and  was  blown  against  a  sand  bar,  where  it  sank.  Two  men 
were  drowned.  All  the  presents  which  McKenzie  was  send- 
ing to  the  Blackfeet  were  also  lost.  A  large  number  of  these 
Indians  were  accompanying  the  party,  and  were  very  angry, 
for  they  suspected  that  the  destruction  of  the  boat  was  by 
design.  Mitchell  came  very  near  having  serious  trouble. 
He  must  have  gone  back  to  Union  for  a  new  outfit,  but  there 
is  no  record  of  his  having  done  so. 

When  Mitchell  arrived  at  Fort  Piegan  he  found  it  burned 
down,  and  not  liking  the  situation,  he  moved  up  the  river 
six  miles  and  selected  a  site  on  the  left  or  north  bank  of  the 
river  in  what  is  now  known  as  Brule  bottom.  The  erection 
of  the  new  post  at  this  point  was  one  of  the  thrilling  episodes 
of  the  fur  trade.  There  were  several  thousand  Indians 
present,  who  had  assembled  from  all  quarters.  The  whites, 
during  the  building  of  the  fort,  lived  on  their  keelboat. 
They  worked  like  beavers,  for  the  peril  of  the  situation  was 
apparent  to  all.  Many  of  the  Indians  were  actually  hostile, 
and  were  ready  for  desperate  measures.  The  entire  party 
of  whites  could  easily  have  been  destroyed.  But  the  men 
kept  working  away,  while  Mitchell  maintained  amicable 
relations.  On  one  occasion  it  seemed  as  if  trouble  could 
not  be  avoided,  but  Mitchell's  firmness  and  tact  saved  the 
party.  As  soon  as  the  stockade  was  erected  the  men  felt 
safe,  and  the  Indians  in  large  part  withdrew  soon  after. 
This  post  was  named  Fort  McKenzie,  in  honor  of  the  able 
trader  who  ruled  the  country  from  Fort  Union.  Its  suc- 
cessful completion  assured  a  permanent  foothold  in  the 
Blackfoot  country,  and  it  continued  to  be  occupied  until 
nearly  the  close  of  the  period  embraced  in  this  work. 

torical  Society.  Unfortunately  Kipp  was  too  intent  upon  warping  the 
facts  to  his  own  glorification  to  give  one  that  confidence  in  his  state- 
ments that  could  be  desired. 


FORT    CASS    ON    THE    YELLOWSTONE.  337 

As  soon  as  the  success  of  the  Blackfoot  estabhshment  was 
assured  McKenzie  turned  his  attention  to  the  Crows.  He 
already  had  itinerant  traders  among  them,  but  the  Indians 
wanted  a  post.  In  the  same  letter  (December  ii,  1831)  in 
which  he  announced  to  the  St.  Louis  management  that  Kipp 
had  succeeded  in  his  enterprise  at  the  mouth  of  the  Marias 
he  said  :  "  I  intend  to  build  a  fort  next  summer  on  the  Yel- 
lowstone at  the  mouth  of  the  Bighorn  for  the  Crows,  and 
for  many  years  some  straggling  white  hunters  will  stay  in 
the  Crow  country  from  whom  we  may  expect  a  little  bea- 
ver." This  purpose  was  carried  out  the  following  year. 
Mr.  Chouteau,  who  visited  Union  in  June,  1832,  on  the 
steamboat  Yellowstone,  wrote  to  Mr.  W.  B.  Astor  on  his 
return  that  McKenzie  was,  at  the  time  of  his  visit  at  the  fort, 
"  preparing  an  outfit  for  the  Yellowstone  in  order  to  estab- 
lish a  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bighorn  for  the  trade  of  the 
Crows  and  the  surrounding  tribes,  and  to  supply  their  moun- 
tain hunters."  Samuel  Tulloch  was  sent  in  charge  of  this 
work.  The  post  was  built  in  the  fall  of  1832,  and  was 
called  Fort  Cass. 

By  this  time  the  field  of  the  upper  Missouri  was  as  fully 
occupied  as  it  ever  came  to  be  by  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany. There  were  three  primary  bases  of  operations  — 
Fort  Union  at  the  confluence  of  the  Missouri  and  the  Yel- 
lowstone; Fort  McKenzie  on  the  Missouri  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Marias,  and  Fort  Cass  on  the  Yellowstone  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Bighorn.  The  company  at  one  time  contem- 
plated building  a  post  at  the  Three  Forks,  but  this  was  never 
done,  for  the  subsequent  developments  of  the  trade  never 
required  any  increase  in  the  number  of  these  establishments. 
It  was  found  that  the  resources  of  this  remote  country  could 
be  better  exploited  by  the  mountain  trade,  which  was  by  this 
time  thoroughly  organized. 

The  successful  work  of  McKenzie,  by  which,  in  the  space 
of  five  years  he  had  practically  covered  the  whole  field, 
and  had  firmly  established  his  company  in  a  region  which 
had  so  far  baffled  the  efforts  of  all  traders  to  penetrate,  is 


338  INTRODUCTION    OF    THE   STEAMBOAT. 

ample  proof  of  his  great  executive  ability.  Among  the 
schemes  which  he  originated  for  the  more  vigorous  conduct 
of  the  business  was  the  introduction  of  the  steamboat  in  the 
trade.  As  this  event  marks  the  advent  of  one  of  the  most 
flourishing  businesses  and  one  of  the  most  remarkable  fea- 
tures in  the  frontier  development  of  the  West,  it  is  of  much 
historic  interest.  Steamboats  had  been  used  to  a  limited 
extent  on  the  lower  river  for  the  previous  decade.  The  first 
boat  had  entered  the  Missouri  in  18 19,  and  in  the  same  year 
the  Western  Engineer  had  reached  Council  Bluffs.  But 
before  1830  scarcely  any  steamboat  business  was  done  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Kansas  river,  and  but  very  little  below. 
McKenzie's  scheme  of  taking  a  steamboat  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Yellowstone  river  was  therefore  very  much  in  the  nature 
of  an  experiment,  and  the  majority  of  the  business  men  of 
St.  Louis  doubted  its  success.  But  McKenzie  was  the  sort 
of  man  to  grapple  with  new  and  hazardous  enterprises,  and 
was  not  afraid  to  undertake  a  measure  simply  because  it  had 
not  been  tried  before.  He  succeeded  in  convincing  the  man- 
agement at  St.  Louis  of  the  practicability  of  the  project,  and 
it  was  decided  to  undertake  it.^^ 

The  plan  of  this  new  enterprise  was  outlined  in  great 
detail  by  Mr.  Chouteau  in  a  letter  to  the  house  in  New  York 
written  on  the  30th  of  August,  1830.  He  recounted  the 
great  losses  and  delays,  as  well  as  the  expense  for  men, 
attendant  upon  keelboat  traffic.  He  thought  that  a  small 
steamboat,  such  as  could  be  built  for  about  seven  thousand 
dollars,  could  start  up  the  Missouri  in  April  and  return  with 
the  proceeds  of  the  trade  by  the  end  of  June.  The  men 
required  would  be  fewer,  and  barges  could  be  retained  for 
the  trade  higher  up,  or  could  return  to  St.  Louis  late  in  the 
season  with  furs.     They  would  also  be  available  in  case  of 

"  This  decision  was  reached  in  the  month  of  August,  1830,  after  a  full 
conference  with  McKenzie,  who  arrived  at  St.  Louis  from  the  interior 
August  5.  In  a  letter  dated  August  31,  1830,  Mr.  Chouteau  says: 
"  Nous  avons  en  contemplation  de  faire  batir  un  petit  steamboat  dans 
le  cours  de  I'hiver  pour  le  faire  monter  de  bon  printemps  avec  les  mar- 
chandises  pour  la  traite  suivante." 


FIRST    VOYAGE    OF    THE    YELLOWSTONE.  339 

accidents  to  the  steamboats.  The  greatest  difficulty  to  be 
apprehended  was  from  the  breakage  of  machinery  so  far 
away  from  shops,  and  this  it  was  hoped  to  overcome  by 
taking  along  spare  parts  together  with  a  complete  black- 
smith outfit.  On  the  whole  the  experiment  was  considered 
worth  trying,  and  steps  were  taken  accordingly.  The  boat 
was  contracted  for  in  October,  1830,  to  be  delivered  on  the 
ist  of  April  following.  It  was  built  in  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, and  was  christened  the   Yellozvstone. 

The  boat  was  completed  on  time,  brought  to  St.  Louis, 
loaded  with  the  first  fur  trade  cargo  that  any  steamboat 
ever  attempted  to  take  to  the  far  upper  rivers,  and  left  St. 
Louis  on  the  i6th  of  April,  1831.^'^  Captain  B.  Young  was 
master  of  the  boat,  while  its  principal  passenger  was  Pierre 
Chouteau,  Jr.,  who  made  the  trip  for  the  double  purpose  of 
judging  of  the  merits  of  the  steamboat  experiment,  and  of 
studying  the  situation  of  the  trade  at  the  various  posts.  The 
boat  proceeded  with  fair  progress  until  it  passed  the 
mouth  of  the  Niobrara,  about  the  31st  of  May.  Just  above 
this  point  it  was  stopped  by  low  water  and  was  delayed  for 
a  considerable  time.  This  delay  was  a  great  annoyance  to 
Mr.  Chouteau.  Impatiently  he  waited  day  by  day  for  a  rise 
in  the  river.  In  his  anxiety  he  would  go  ashore  every  day, 
and  pace  up  and  down  a  high  river  bluff  watching  the 
weather  and  longing  for  more  water.  The  place  has  ever 
since  been  known  as  Chouteau's  Bluffs.  He  did  not,  how- 
ever, wait  supinely  for  the  weather,  but  sent  for  some  boats 
from  Fort  Tecumseh  to  act  as  lighters.  By  the  aid  of  these 
the  steamboat  was  able  to  proceed,  and  arrived  at  the  fort 
on  the  19th  of  June,  1831.^^  That  part  of  the  trip  which 
lay  above  Council  Bluffs  was  traversed  on  this  voyage  for 
the  first  time  by  steamboats. 

""Le  steamboat  Yellowstone  a  laisse  le  port  le  16  a  midi."  B.  Pratte 
&  Co.  to  W.  B.  Astor,  April  19,  1831. 

"Chouteau  to  W.  B.  Astor,  August  17,  1831 :  "  Ce  ne  fut  done  qu'a 
la  faveur  de  trois  berges,  que  j'envoyai  chercher  au  Petit  Missouri,  et 
qui  regurent  une  grande  partie  de  la  charge,  qu'il  m'a  ete  possible  de 
me  rendre  avec  le  bateau  le  19  Juin  au  Fort  Tecumseh." 


340      SECOND  VOYAGE  OF  THE  YELLOWSTONE. 

No  attempt  was  made  to  go  beyond  Fort  Tecumseh. 
After  the  business  at  this  post  was  transacted  the  boat 
started  for  St.  Louis.  She  made  the  return  journey  in 
safety  and  arrived  in  St.  Louis  on  the  15th  day  of  July, 
"  with  a  full  cargo  of  buffalo  robes,  furs,  and  peltries, 
besides  ten  thousand  pounds  of  buffalo  tongues."  Mr. 
Chouteau  returned  convinced  of  the  feasibility  of  using 
steamboats  in  his  trade,  and  it  was  decided  to  repeat  the 
experiment  the  following  year. 

In  several  respects  the  voyage  of  the  Yellowstone  in  1832 
has  been  a  landmark  in  the  history  of  the  West.  It  demon- 
strated the  practicability  of  navigating  the  Missouri  by 
steam  as  far  as  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  with  a 
strong  probability  that  boats  could  go  on  to  the  Blackfoot 
country.  Among  the  passengers  was  the  artist,  Catlin, 
whose  works  have  given  added  celebrity  to  the  voyage.  The 
boat  left  St.  Louis  March  26,  1832.  It  made  extremely 
slow  progress,  and  did  not  reach  Fort  Tecumseh  until  the 
31st  of  May.  Here  a  delay  of  six  days  occurred  during 
which  the  new  fort,  built  to  replace  Fort  Tecumseh,  was 
christened  Fort  Pierre,  in  honor  of  the  distinguished  trader, 
Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  who  was  a  passenger  on  the  boat. 

Leaving  Fort  Pierre  on  the  5th  of  June,  the  boat  went 
on  to  Fort  Union.  The  date  of  its  arrival  is  uncertain. 
That  given  by  Catlin,  June  26th,  is  wrong,  for  the  boat  was 
back  at  Fort  Pierre  on  the  24th.  The  date  was  about  June 
17th.  On  the  return  journey  the^ Yellowstone  left  Fort 
Pierre  on  the  25th  of  June  and  reached  St.  Louis  July  7th. 
Its  downward  trip  had  averaged  one  hundred  miles  per 
day. 

This  noted  voyage  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  company. 
It  completed  the  second  step  in  reaching  the  head  of  naviga- 
tion on  the  Missouri  by  steam,  the  first  having  been  accom- 
plished from  St.  Louis  to  Council  Bluffs  in  1819,  and  the 
third  from  Fort  Union  to  Fort  Benton  in  1859.  From  1832 
on,  the  Missouri  river  steamboat  was  a  constant  and  indis- 


THE    STEAMBOAT    AND    THE    INDIANS.  34I 

pensable  feature  of  frontier  life  in  every  department  until 
the  railroad  at  last  destroyed  its  usefulness. 

The  interest  created  by  the  voyage  of  the  Yellowstone 
extended  not  only  over  the  United  States,  but  to  Europe  as 
well.  Writing  from  New  York,  November  i6,  1832,  Ram- 
say Cronksjthus  addressed  Mr.  Chouteau  upon  the  subject : 
"  I  congratulate  you  most  cordially  on  your  perseverance 
and  ultimate  success  in  reaching  the  Yellowstone  by  steam, 
and  the  future  historian  of  the  Missouri  will  preserve  for 
you  the  honorable  and  enviable  distinction  of  having  accom- 
plished an  object  of  immense  importance,  by  exhibiting  the 
practicability  of  conquering  the  obstructions  of  the  Missouri 
considered  till  almost  the  present  day  insurmountable  to 
steamboats  even  among  those  best  acquainted  with  their 
capabilities.  You  have  brought  the  Falls  of  the  Missouri 
as  near,  comparatively,  as  was  the  River  Platte  in  my 
younger  days."  And  Mr.  Astor,  writing  from  Bellevue, 
France,  said  to  Mr.  Chouteau :  "  Your  voyage  in  the  Yel- 
lowstone attracted  much  attention  in  Europe,  and  has  been 
noted  in  all  the  papers  here." 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  appearance  of  this  wonder- 
ful craft  made  a  profound  impression  upon  the  Indians.  Its 
power  against  the  current,  as  if  moved  by  some  supernatural 
agency,  excited  the  keenest  astonishment,  and  even  aroused 
a  feeling  of  terror.  One  good  effect  was  to  increase  their 
respect  for  Americans.  The  Missouri  Republican,  com- 
menting upon  the  voyage,  said :  "  Many  of  the  Indians  who 
had  been  in  the  habit  of  trading  with  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  declared  that  the  company  could  no  longer  com- 
pete with  the  Americans,  and  concluded  thereafter  to  bring 
all  their  skins  to  the  latter;  and  said  that  the  British  might 
turn  out  their  dogs  and  burn  their  sledges,  as  they  would  no 
longer  be  useful  while  the  Fire  Boat  walked  on  the  waters." 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  a  subject  which  had 
an  importance  among  the  Missouri  traders  all  out  of  pro- 
portion to  the  information  which  they  have  left  concerning 
it.     From  the  date  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition  to  the 


342  BRITISH    INFLUENCE    AGAIN. 

close  of  the  period  of  this  work  the  traders  were  always  com- 
plaining of  the  British.  Particularly  in  the  earlier  years  of 
the  American  Fur  Company's  business  along  the  boundary 
these  complaints  were  loud  and  incessant.  There  was  prob- 
ably something  in  them,  but  ho\y  much  it  is  impossible  to 
say,  for  they  were  couched  in  general  terms,  and  rarely  gave 
any  specific  facts  to  support  them. 

McKenzie,  who  had  been  reared  in  the  school  of  the 
Northwest  Company,  and  understood  how  much  importance 
was  attached  to  presents  by  the  Indians,  thought  it  a  good 
idea  to  imitate  the  example  of  the  British  companies,  and 
have  some  medals  struck  in  the  name  of  the  American  Fur 
Company.  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  who  attached  great  weight 
to  McKenzie's  opinions,  laid  the  matter  before  the  house  in 
New  York  in  the  same  letter  (August  17,  183 1)  in  which 
he  announced  the  result  of  the  steamboat  voyage  to  Fort 
Tecumseh.  Referring  to  the  proposed  post  in  the  Blackfoot 
country,  then  about  to  be  established,  he  said :  "  It  is  at  this 
establishment  that  we  shall  have  to  combat  the  opposition 
of  the  English  traders,  who  have  a  fort  not  far  distant,  and 
who,  as  is  their  custom,  will  undoubtedly  do  everything  in 
their  power  to  excite  the  Indians  against  us.  This  diffi- 
culty might  nevertheless  be  somewhat  diminished  if  the 
government  could  be  persuaded  to  place  at  our  disposal  a  few 
presents,  which  would  be  delivered  to  the  Indians  in  the 
name  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  The  English 
government,  if  I  am  well  informed,  allows  the  Northwest 
Company  ^"^  an  annual  sum  for  this  particular  purpose.  A 
little  indulgence  of  this  nature  on  the  part  of  the  government 
will  secure  the  confidence  and  friendship  of  these  savages 
toward  us." 

Mr.  Crooks  wrote  to  Washington,  and  the  War  Depart- 
ment consented  that  the  company  might  make  some  medals 
on  its  own  account.  The  way  in  which  the  government  del- 
egated a  function  which  belonged  only  to  itself,  but  con- 

"  This  name  survived  in  common  usage  after  the  amalgamation  of 
1821,  when  the  official  name  became  that  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 


THE    ASTOR    MEDALS.  343 

cealed  its  action  under  a  fiction  of  words,  is  described  in  a 
letter  from  Crooks  to  Chouteau  November  i6,  1832  :  "  For 
Mr.  McKenzie's  coat  of  mail  ^^  I  have  sent  to  England,  for 
nothing  of  the  sort  could  be  found  here.  His  fusil  a  six 
coups  is  ordered  from  Rochester;  and  the  medals  for  his 
outfit  are  in  the  hands  of  the  die-maker,  who,  I  hope,  will 
give  us  a  good  likeness  de  noire  estimable  grand-papa 
[Astor].  I  wrote  to  Washington  about  them,  and  the 
War  Office  made  no  objections  to  our  having  these  orna- 
ments made.     Remember  they  are  ornaments,  not  medals" ! 

These  medals  later  gave  the  company  trouble,  when  some 
of  its  enemies  reported  to  Washington  that  it  was  usurping 
the  functions  of  the  government  in  their  distribution.  Some 
correspondence  resulted  but  the  matter  was  never  carried  up. 
Mr.  Chouteau  stated  in  his  reply  to  an  inquiry  from  Wash- 
ington that  "  before  the  die  for  the  Astor  medals  was  struck 
the  matter  was  submitted  to  Governor  Cass,  then  Secretary 
of  War,  who  gave  his  consent  to  the  measure,  and  a  sample 
of  the  medals  was  deposited  with  the  department,  accom- 
panied by  letters  of  the  President  of  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany." The  privilege  of  using  these  medals  was  discon- 
tinued by  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  March  22,  1844.^^ 

By  means  of  the  intelligent  and  energetic  measures 
described  in  the  few  preceding  pages  the  American  Fur 
Company  extended  and  consolidated  its  trade  upon  the  upper 
rivers.  The  unpleasant  task  remains  to  record  those  less 
honorable  measures  which  it  did  not  scruple  to  resort  to  for 
the  accomplishment  of  its  purposes. 

"  What  McKenzie  proposed  to  do  with  his  coat  of  mail  can  only  be 
conjectured.  It  may  simply  have  been  an  adjunct  to  the  high  state 
which  he  maintained  in  the  remote  post  where  he  ruled  as  lord  of  the 
country  round  about. 

"  Only  two  or  three  of  the  Astor  medals  are  known  to  be  now  in 
existence.  The  photograph  here  reproduced  is  of  one  in  possession  of 
Mr.  F.  J.  Haynes,  of  St.  Paul.  It  is  also  understood  that  there  is  one 
in  the  possession  of  the  Chouteaus  of  St.  Louis,  and  another  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Astors.  The  origin  and  history  of  the  medals  have  never 
before  been  given. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE   AMERICAN    FUR    COMPANY. 
STRESS   OF    COMPETITION. 

Standards  of  business  —  Dealing  with  opposition  companies  —  The 
French  Fur  Company  —  The  affair  with  Leclerc  —  The  Sublette-Camp- 
bell opposition  —  McKenzie  victorious  —  Arrangement  with  Sublette 
and  Campbell  —  Importance  of  liquor  in  the  trade  —  McKenzie  de- 
pressed at  the  outlook  —  The  distillery  project  —  Voyage  of  1833  — 
Distillery  established  at  Fort  Union  —  Successful  operation  —  Wyeth 
reports  McKenzie  —  General  Clark  calls  for  an  explanation  —  The 
operation  of  the  distillery  suspended  —  Dangerous  complications. 

*frN  regard  to  the  standard  of  business  morality  observed 
""  in  the  affairs  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  it  was 
simply  that  of  the  business  world  today  —  no  better,  no 
worse.  The  ruthless  code  of  competition  which  finds 
expression  in  the  correspondence  of  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  in 
such  instructions  as  coiite  que  coute  and  ecrasej:  toiite  oppo- 
sition, is  the  world  wide  rule  of  business  affairs.  The  only 
difference  between  the  American  Fur  Company  and  the 
great  concerns  of  modern  times  is  in  the  fact  that  the  fur 
business  was  mostly  conducted  where  the  arm  of  the  law  did 
not  reach.  The  merciless  rivalry,  which  is  now  toned  down 
by  force  of  law  to  an  outward  semblance  of  equitable  deal- 
ing, broke  out  in  its  true  hideous  colors  when  beyond  the 
reach  of  legal  jurisdiction.  Competition,  which  even  in  this 
day  precipitates  unseemly  railroad  wars,  then  meant  war 
of  the  genuine  sort.  It  is  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  state  of 
affairs  which  at  times  prevailed.  "  The  company,"  by 
which  is  always  meant  the  American  Fur  Company,  was 
thoroughly  hated  even  by  its  own  servants.  Throughout  its 
career  it  was  an  object  of  popular  execration,  as  all  grasping 


DEALING    WITH    OPPOSITION    COMPANIES.  345 

monopolies  are.  Many  are  the  stories,  largely  exaggerated, 
no  doubt,  that  have  come  down  to  us  of  its  hard  and  cruel 
ways.  Small  traders  stood  no  show  whatever  and  the  most 
desperate  measures  were  resorted  to  without  scruple  to  get 
them  out  of  the  way.  Many  an  employe,  it  is  said,  who  had 
finished  his  term  of  service  and  had  started  for  St.  Louis 
with  a  letter  of  credit  for  his  pay  fell  by  the  way  and  was 
reported  as  killed  by  the  Indians.  These  harsher  features  of 
a  heartless  business  it  is  difficult  to  believe,  but  the  fact  that 
such  traditions  have  persisted  even  to  the  present  day  is  not 
compatible  with  the  theory  of  entire  innocence. 

The  first  step  always  taken  in  dealing  with  an  "  opposi-i 
tion  "  was  to  crush  it  by  sheer  force  if  possible.  When  that 
did  not  succeed  an  attempt  would  be  made  to  buy  it  out, 
admit  it  to  an  interest  in  the  company,  or  divide  the  field 
with  it.  In  one  way  or  another  the  American  Fur  Company 
succeeded  in  maintaining  itself  against  all  comers,  although 
it  was  sometimes  badly  frightened,  and  occasionally  came 
near  calling  down  upon  itself  the  strong  arm  of  the  govern- 
ment.    A  few  examples  will  be  given. 

The  first  opposition  which  the  American  Fur  Company 
had  to  contend  with  after  its  union  with  the  Columbia  Fur 
Company  was  what  was  then  known  as  the  French  Fur 
Company.  It  is  thus  referred  to  in  a  letter  from  Chouteau 
to  McKenzie  written  July  5,  1829:  "It  now  remains  for 
me  to  tell  you  of  the  new  company  which  is  lately  formed 
here,  consisting  of  eight  partners,  who  are  Messrs.  Papin, 
Chenie  fils,  the  two  Cerres,  Delaurier,  Picotte,  Denis  Guion 
and  Louis  Bonfort,  with  an  equipment  of  $16,000,  of  which 
each  partner  contributes  an  equal  share.  These  gentlemen 
have  done,  and  are  still  doing,  everything  in  their  power  to 
debauch  all  our  clerks.  .  .  .  You  can  not  but  see  how 
important  it  is  for  our  future  interests  to  make  every  effort 
this  year  to  arrest  this  opposition  from  the  start."  This 
company,  like  most  associations  where  all  enter  on  equal 
terms  without  subordination  of  members  to  duly  constituted 
officials,   had  a  brief  and  inglorious  career.     It  occupied 


346  THE    FRENCH    FUR    COMPANY. 

numerous  positions  in  the  upper  Missouri  country  close  to 
the  American  Fur  Company  posts  and  commenced  business 
with  the  usual  bravado  and  pretense  employed  by  concerns 
of  its  calibre.  But  it  made  no  permanent  impression  any- 
where. It  maintained  a  lingering  existence  for  two  years 
and  then  sold  out  to  the  company.  The  transfer  of  its 
principal  establishment,  which  stood  just  across  the  Teton 
river  from  Fort  Tecumseh,  took  place  October  14,  1830. 
Papin,  Picotte,  and  one  of  the  Cerres  entered  the  company's 
service. 

In  the  year  1831  one  Narcisse  Leclerc,^  late  an  employe  of 
the  company,  having  laid  by  a  small  saving  which  some 
associates  eked  out  to  a  respectable  amount,  concluded  to  try 
his  own  hand  at  the  business.  As  he  had  gained  consid- 
erable knowledge  of  the  trade,  the  company  felt  that  he 
might  give  them  some  annoyance,  and  his  first  year's  work 
tended  to  confirm  this  apprehension.  It  was  resolved  to  get 
rid  of  his  opposition  before  he  should  get  up  the  river  with 
his  outfit  in  1832.  How  to  do  this  was  not  so  easy  a  matter, 
for  although  there  was  as  yet  no  legal  jurisdiction  in  the 
remote  region  where  the  trade  was  conducted,  yet  the  very 
license  of  the  company  was  dependent  upon  the  govern- 
ment authorities,  who  might  and  would  revoke  it  if  con- 
vinced that  it  was  being  abused.  Whatever  was  done  must 
therefore  be  under  color  of  the  law.  The  problem  was  left 
to  J.  P.  Cabanne.  an  enterprising  agent  of  the  company  in 

^  Leclerc  was  a  shrewd  character  and  quite  a  match  in  craftiness  for 
those  with  whom  he  had  to  deal.  He  was  outfitted  by  Henry  Shaw 
under  the  style  of  the  Northwest  Fur  Company.  He  cherished  a  full 
share  of  the  general  dislike  for  the  American  Fur  Company  and  its 
agents.  Referring  to  Leclerc  and  his  first  expedition  in  1831,  Laidlaw 
said  to  McKcnzie  in  a  letter  from  Fort  Tecumseh,  November  27,  183 1 : 
"  I  have  heard  nothing  of  Leclerc  since  I  last  wrote  you,  and  as  the 
ice  is  now  drifting  a  little,  I  am  in  hopes  he  will  not  get  up  this  far. 
But  even  if  he  does,  I  am  well  prepared  for  him  and  shall  have  some 
one  at  his  heels  all  the  time.  He  told  Papin  that  nothing  would  do 
him  so  much  good  as  to  go  puffing  a  cigar  alongside  of  you  and  put 
on  a  dignified  look.  I  expect  the  gentleman  would  take  care  not  to 
get  too  close." 


THE  LECLERC  AFFAIR.  347 

charge  of  its  affairs  near  Council  Bluffs.  He  was  author- 
ized in  extremity  to  offer  Leclerc  a  cash  payment  if  he  would 
not  go  as  far  up  the  river  as  the  Sioux  country,  but  confine 
himself  to  the  trade  below.  Soon  after  Leclerc  set  out  up 
the  river  with  his  outfit,  Cabanne  left  St.  Louis  for  his  post 
where  he  arrived  considerably  in  advance  of  Leclerc. 

In  the  meantime  circumstances  had  thrown  in  Cabanne's 
way  an  excuse  for  adopting  radical  measures.  When  the 
company's  steamboat  came  down  the  river  from  its  Yellow- 
stone trip  of  1832  the  master  of  the  boat  was  informed  at 
Leavenworth  that  no  more  liquor  would  be  allowed  to  pass 
that  point  as  the  importation  of  that  article  into  the  Indian 
country  had  been  prohibited  by  law.^  Nevertheless  Leclerc 
was  authorized  by  General  William  Clark,  Superintendent  of 
Indian  Affairs,  to  take  with  him  two  hundred  and  fifty  gal- 
lons of  alcohol.  Chouteau  protested  against  this,  but  Gen- 
eral Clark  would  not  revoke  the  license,  as  it  seems  he  had 
not  yet  been  officially  notified  of  the  passage  of  the  new  law. 
He  gave  to  Chouteau  also  authority  to  send  with  the  com- 
pany's outfit  one  thousand  four  hundred  gallons.  Knowing 
that  it  would  be  too  late  if  he  waited  until  the  following 
spring  Chouteau  turned  the  Yellowstone  about  and  sent  her 
to  Council  Bluffs  with  an  outfit  including  the  liquor.  When 
the  boat  reached  Leavenworth  the  liquor  was  all  confiscated. 
Leclerc,  on  the  other  hand,  either  by  favor  or  subterfuge,  had 
succeeded  in  getting  by  with  his,  and  was  already  safe  on  his 
way  to  the  Indian  country  and  well  out  of  reach  before  the 
news  got  back  to  St.  Louis.  The  prospect  looked  dubious 
enough  to  the  company,  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  gallons 
of  alcohol  judiciously  used  would  be  hard  to  contend 
against.  It  was  too  late  to  remedy  the  evil  and  nothing  but 
Cabanne's  ingenuity  now  stood  in  the  way  of  an  embarrass- 
ing opposition. 

A  few  days  before  Leclerc  reached  Bellevue  three  of  Ca- 
banne's men  deserted,  carrying  off  one  of  his  skiffs.     On 

*Act  of  July  9,  1832. 


348         LECLERC  SURRENDERS  TO  SARPY. 

the  way  down  the  river,  they  met  Leclerc  and  hired  out  to 
him.  Cabanne  himself  met  Leclerc  about  twenty  miles  be- 
low his  post  whither  he  had  gone  with  some  Indian  annuities. 
He  demanded  restitution  of  the  deserters,  but  having  no 
force  with  him,  could  not  compel  their  release.  When  they 
arrived  at  Bellevue  he  had  his  men  seize  them  and  put  them 
in  irons.  They  told  Cabanne  that  Leclerc  had  a  lot  of  liquor 
in  his  outfit.  This  information  gave  Cabanne  the  pretext  he 
wanted.  Here  was  a  trader  clandestinely  violating  the  law 
by  carrying  liquor  into  the  Lidian  country.  He  would  stop 
the  illegal  transaction  and  thereby  put  an  end  to  the  whole 
expedition.  It  seems  not  to  have  occurred  to  Cabanne  that 
the  enforcement  of  law  is  entrusted  only  to  duly  accredited 
officials  and  that  he  was  not  one  of  these;  that  his  only 
power  in  the  case  was  to  report  Leclerc  to  the  proper  author- 
ities. He  did  not  worry  himself  about  fine  distinctions  of 
that  sort.  Instead,  he  sent  his  clerk  —  Sarpy,  a  man  of 
courage  and  spirit  —  with  an  armed  party,  equipped  with  a 
small  cannon,  to  capture  Leclerc  and  his  whole  outfit.  In  this 
party  was  Joseph  La  Barge,^  then  a  lad  of  only  seventeen, 
on  his  first  trip  to  the  Indian  country.  This  rude  initiation 
into  the  life  of  the  wilderness  made  a  lasting  impression 
upon  him.  Sarpy  took  his  party  to  a  point  above  the  post 
which  commanded  the  river  where  the  channel  lay  very 
clb^e  to  the  shore.  When  Leclerc  came  along  he  ordered 
him  to  surrender  or  he  would  blow  him  out  of  the  water. 
This  Leclerc  did  promptly,  and  perhaps  willingly,  and  party 
and  outfit  were  escorted  back  to  the  post,  where  the  liquor 
was  confiscated  and  put  in  the  warehouse.  It  is  said  that 
Cabanne  offered  to  restore  the  goods  to  Leclerc,  but  if  he  did 

'  Joseph  La  Barge,  the  most  distinguished  of  the  Missouri  river  pilots, 
was  born  in  St.  Louis  October  i,  1815,  and  died  in  the  same  city,  April 
3,  1899.  Nearly  all  his  active  life  was  spent  in  steamboating  on  the 
Missouri.  He  made  and  lost  a  fortune  at  the  business.  He  served 
for  many  years  on  the  American  Fur  Company  steamboats.  He  was 
a  man  of  high  character  and  the  best  representative  of  a  class  of  men  — ■ 
the  Missouri  River  Pilot  —  whose  business  has  entirely  passed  away. 


LECLERC    VICTORIOUS.  349 

SO,  Leclerc  declined,  for  he  was  too  shrewd  not  to  see  that 
he  could  gather  a  better  winter's  trade  back  in  St.  Louis  than 
he  could  at  his  trading  posts.  It  is  not  probable  that  the 
offer  was  made,  and  certainly  not  unless  Cabanne  had  be- 
come alarmed  at  the  consequences  of  his  arbitrary  proceed- 
ing and  thus  sought  to  avert  them. 

At  any  rate  Leclerc  hastened  back  to  St.  Louis  and 
brought  suit  against  the  company,  while  criminal  proceed- 
ings were  instituted  against  Cabanne,  The  matter  was  car- 
ried to  Washington  and  an  outcry  was  made  against  permit- 
ting the  company  longer  to  remain  in  the  Indian  country. 
The  exigency  was  certainly  a  grave  one  for  the  company 
and  required  all  its  ingenuity  and  resources  to  avert  disaster. 
For  Cabanne  the  case  seemed  quite  hopeless,  threatening  him 
with  financial  ruin,  if  nothing  worse."*  A  compromise  was 
finally  reached  by  paying  Leclerc  the  sum  of  $9,200,  which 
was  charged  to  the  account  of  the  Upper  Missouri  Outfit. 

In  a  letter  to  Joshua  Pilcher  who  had  succeeded  Cabanne 
at  Bellevue,  notifying  him  of  the  outcome  of  the  case,  Chou^ 
teau  expressed  his  regret  that  Cabanne,  instead  of  resorting 
to  such  heroic  measures,  had  not  offered  Leclerc  outright  a 
thousand  dollars  not  to  go  so  far  as  to  interfere  with  the 
trade  of  the  upper  river.  This  observation  effectually  ex- 
plodes the  claim  of  the  company  and  of  Cabanne,  put  for- 
ward with  such  a  show  of  innocence,  that  their  sole  purpose 
in  stopping  Leclerc  was  to  prevent  his  violating  the  law. 
Their  object  was  to  keep  him  out  of  the  trade,  and  the 

■* "  If  it  were  not  for  the  unreasonable  excitement  that  exists  against 
our  friend  in  Missouri,  and  which  no  doubt  great  pains  will  be  taken  to 
keep  alive,  I  should  not  despair  of  Mr.  Cabanne's  escaping  with  light 
damages  or  perhaps  acquittal.  The  strong  point  of  defence,  in  my 
opinion,  should  be  that  at  the  time  Leclerc  was  stopped  and  brought 
back  he  was  violating  the  law  of  the  land  excluding  ardent  spirits  en- 
tirely from  the  Indian  country ;  that  General  Clark's  permission  was  no 
protection  after  the  Act  of  July  9,  1832,  was  published,  and  with  its 
provisions  Mr.  Leclerc  was  bound  to  be  acquainted.  You  have,  how- 
ever, I  dare  say,  the  best  advice  your  country  affords,  but  it  seems 
to  me  that  in  case  of  defeat  I  would  appeal  the  case  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States."     W.  B.  Astor  to  Chouteau,  March  14.  1833, 


350  SUBLETTE    AND    CAMPBELL. 

presence  of  the  liquor  gave  them  a  pretext  to  accomplish 
their  purpose  by  a  short  cut.  Cabanne  succeeded  in  this 
perfectly,  but  in  so  doing  he  ruined  his  own  career  in  the 
Indian  country. 

The  strongest  opposition  which  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany ever  encountered  on  the  Missouri  was  that  of  the  firm 
of  Sublette  and  Campbell  which  was  formed  on  the  20th 
of  December,  1832.  Both  of  the  partners  were  experienced 
traders  and  of  the  highest  business  standing.  Supported  as 
they  were  by  General  Ashley,  then  a  member  of  Congress, 
their  credit  was  practically  unlimited  and  there  were  any 
number  of  capitalists  who  were  ready  to  furnish  them  means. 
Immediately  after  the  partnership  was  formed  preparation 
was  made  to  oppose  the  American  Fur  Company  at  all  points 
with  an  equipment  which  should  equal  or  surpass  their 
own.  Coming,  as  this  opposition  did,  just  at  the  time  when 
McKenzie  felt  that  he  was  at  last  firmly  established  in  all 
the  region  of  the  upper  Missouri  and  Yellowstone,  it  was 
not  pleasant  news  to  that  ambitious  trader.  But  the  peril, 
far  from  discouraging  him,  served  only  to  strengthen  his 
determination  to  succeed  in  spite  of  it. 

Sublette  and  Campbell  divided  their  forces  for  the  sum- 
mer campaign  of  1833.  Campbell  took  a  party  to  the 
mountains  and  met  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  at 
the  Green  river  rendezvous  in  the  middle  of  July.  Thence 
he  made  his  way  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  where  he 
arrived  with  Milton  Sublette,  N.  J.  Wyeth  and  others 
August  24th.  In  the  meanwhile  Sublette  had  ascended  the 
Missouri  in  the  steamboat  Otto  with  a  splendid  equipment, 
leaving  parties  to  establish  posts  at  nearly  all  the  points 
occupied  by  the  American  Fur  Company.  At  some  point  on 
the  way,  probably  at  Pierre  or  Clark,  he  sent  the  steamboat 
back  and  himself  went  on  with  a  keelboat  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Yellowstone.  Here  he  met  Campbell  and  Milton  Sub- 
lette on  the  27th  of  August,  and  immediately  set  about  se- 
lecting a  site  for  a  post.  That  chosen  was  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  Missouri  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone, 


Mckenzie's  effective  measures.  351 

almost  exactly  where  Fort  Buford  afterward  stood,  and 
about  three  miles  by  land  or  six  by  water  below  Fort  Union. 
The  post  was  christened  Fort  William  in  honor  of  the  elder 
Sublette,  Having  made  his  arrangements  he  left  Campbell 
to  conduct  affairs  at  this  important  station  while  he  returned 
with  the  keelboat  to  St.  Louis. 

The  success  of  this  new  and  really  formidable  opposition 
during  the  fall  trade  of  1833  may  best  be  told  by  Mr.  Mc- 
Kenzie  himself,  bearing  in  mind  the  natural  desire  of  the 
narrator  to  make  out  a  good  case  in  his  own  behalf.  The 
account  is,  however,  substantially  correct  as  shown  by  evi- 
dence derived  from  the  opposition  itself.  Writing  to  D.  D. 
Mitchell,  at  Fort  McKenzie  under  date  of  January  21,  1834, 
Mr.  McKenzie  said :  "  Sublette  and  Campbell  arrived  here 
August  29th,  and  soon  fixed  on  a  site  for  their  fort  which 
they  have  built  two  miles  below  me  and  called  Fort  William. 
They  came  up  in  great  force  with  a  very  large  outfit  and 
abundance  of  alcohol  and  wines  highly  charged  with  spirits. 
They  engaged  the  three  young  Deschamps  as  interpreters 
at  salaries  of  $500  per  annum  each,  and  Tom  Kipland  at 
$600.  They  had,  moreover,  a  full  complement  of  clerks 
and  seemed  prepared  to  carry  all  before  them,  nothing  doubt- 
ing but  that  they  would  secure  at  least  one  half  the  trade  of 
the  country.  They  abandoned  the  idea  of  sending  to  the 
Blackfeet  this  season.  They  started  a  small  equipment 
on  horses  to  the  Crow  village  on  Wind  river.  They  were 
expected  to  return  early  in  December  but  have  not  yet  been 
heard  of.  Mr.  Winter  and  J.  Beckwith  passed  the  fall  in  the 
Crow  camp  and  traded  all  their  beaver.  While  Mr.  Winter 
was  with  the  Crows  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  of  the  R.  M.  F.  Co.  (my 
friend  Captam  Stewart  was  with  him)  arrived  with  thirty 
men,  one  hundred  horses,  and  mules,  merchandise,  etc.,  etc., 
and  encamped  near  the  village.  He  had  not  been  long  there 
before  a  large  party  paid  him  a  visit  and  pillaged  everything 
he  had,  taking  even  the  watch  from  his  pocket  and  the 
capote  from  his  back ;  also  driving  off  all  his  horses.  This 
has  been  a  severe  blow  to  Sublette  and  Campbell.     And  al- 


352  PROPOSALS  TO   SELL  OUT. 

though  on  their  first  start  here  they  made  great  show  and 
grand  promise  to  the  Indians  and  ahhough  among  the  men 
nothing  was  talked  about  but  the  new  company,  they  Hve 
now  at  the  sign  of  'The  case  is  akered.'  Their  interpre- 
ters have  quarreled  and  left  them,  and  are  now  working  hard 
for  me.  The  Indians  find  their  promises  mere  empty  words 
and  are  applying  continually  to  me  to  engage  them.  They 
have  a  post  near  to  Riviere  au  Tremble  in  opposition  to 
Chardon  where  they  are  doing  literally  nothing.  Chardon 
has  it  all  his  own  way.  They  have  another  post  on  the 
Yellowstone  in  opposition  to  Pillot  and  Brazeau  and  there 
they  get  no  robes  although  they  offer  a  blanket  of  scarlet  for 
a  robe. 

"  You  must  be  aware  that  I  have  not  been  asleep  this  fall. 
It  has  cost  me  something  to  secure  the  Indians  to  me, 
but  being  determined  to  get  the  peltries,  nothing  has  been 
neglected  that  would  carry  my  point.  My  opponents  can 
not  by  any  means  get  peltries  sufficient  to  pay  the  wages 
of  their  men.  At  the  Gros  Ventres  and  Mandans  they 
have  not  even  robes  to  sleep  on.  At  the  Mandans  my  last 
account  states  that  Picotte  has  eighty  packs  of  robes  and  five 
hundred  beaver,  the  opposition  two  packs  of  robes  and 
eight  beaver,  and  I  hope  things  are  equally  promising  lower 
down.  On  my  return  from  Fort  Pierre,  Mr.  Campbell 
called  on  me.  W.  Sublette  had  previously  gone  down 
stream  on  his  way  to  St.  Louis  and  proposed  to  sell  out  to 
me  all  their  interest  on  the  river.  I  listened  to  his  terms, 
but  was  by  no  means  disposed  to  buy  out  an  opposition, 
when  all  my  old  experienced  and  faithful  clerks  and  trades- 
men felt  so  certain  of  driving  them  out;  especially  on  my 
giving  them  carte  blanche  with  respect  to  trade  at  their  re- 
spective posts,  of  course  to  be  used  with  discretion  but  with 
this  condition,  that  all  peltries  must  be  secured  for  the  A.  F. 
Co.  and  thus  far  I  have  no  reason  to  complain.  The  new 
company  is  now  in  bad  odor  and  must  sink." 

That  McKenzie's  estimate  of  his  success  was  not  much 
exaggerated  is  clear  from  the  evidence  of  Charles  Larpenteur 


VICTORY    FOR    M  KENZIE.  353 

who  at  this  time  was  in  the  employ  of  Campbell  at  Fort  Wil- 
liam. "  The  Indians,"  he  said,  "  had  no  confidence  in  his 
[Campbell's]  remaining,  so  that  the  bulk  of  the  trade  went 
to  the  big  American  Fur  Company  in  spite  of  all  we  could  do. 
This  post  [Fort  William]  was  not  the  only  one  that 
was  out  of  luck  for  all  those  along  the  Missouri  proved  a 
failure." 

How  did  McKenzie  accomplish  this?  Very  much  as  the 
Standard  Oil  Company  today  crushes  any  rival  enterprise 
that  may  dare  to  show  its  head  in  any  part  of  the  United 
States.  His  letter  to  Mitchell  shows  that.  The  "  carte 
blanche  "  to  the  clerks  simply  meant  that  they  might  pay  the 
Indians  any  price,  however  high,  for  furs,  and  might  make 
use  of  any  amount  of  liquor  that  was  necessary  to  secure 
the  trade.  At  the  Mandan  post  as  high  as  twelve  dollars 
was  paid  for  beaver  skins.  McKenzie  might  well  say  "  it 
has  cost  me  something  to  secure  the  Indians  to  me  "  when  in 
order  to  do  it  he  was  compelled  to  pay  four  times  the  usual 
price  for  furs.  Of  course  such  competition  wiped  out  all 
profits  and  it  was  simply  a  question  of  resources  as  to  which 
competitor  could  hold  out  the  longer.  In  this  McKenzie 
with  the  great  company  at  his  back  had  every  advantage; 
and  his  victory  was  practically  won  at  the  close  of  the  sea- 
son's trade. 

So  confident  did  McKenzie  feel  of  his  ability  to  drive  off 
his  competitors  that  he  would  not  even  listen  to  their 
overtures  to  sell  out  to  him.  He  was  therefore  much  cha- 
grined when  he  found  that  the  house  at  St.  Louis  had  taken 
the  matter  into  their  own  hands  without  consulting  him  and 
had  entered  into  an  arrangement  with  Sublette.  The  fact 
was  that  the  home  officials  were  a  good  deal  more  fright- 
ened than  McKenzie  and  thought  it  best  to  come  to  terms. 
Their  action  and  the  reasons  for  it  are  thus  explained  in  a 
letter  to  McKenzie  dated  April  8,  1834:  "  By  the  enclosed 
agreement  you  will  see  that  we  have  concluded  an  arrange- 
ment at  New  York  with  Mr.  Sublette.  We  take  such  of  his 
equipment  in  merchandise,  utensils,  etc.,  as  remains  at  the 


354  END    OF    SUBLETTE-CAMPBELL    OPPOSITION. 

close  of  the  season's  trade  and  we  retire  from  the  mountain 
trade  for  the  ensuing  year.  ...  In  making  this 
arrangement  our  object  was  to  keep  Sublette  from  purchas- 
ing a  new  equipment  and  from  connecting  himself  with 
houses  that  were  making  him  all  sorts  of  offers.  His  repu- 
tation and  that  of  his  patron,  Ashley,  whatever  may  be  the 
cause,  are  far  above  their  worth.  Nevertheless  such  is  the 
fact  and  it  is  enough  to  procure  them  unlimited  credit.  It 
is  this  which  induced  us  to  ofifer  to  buy  them  out. 
We  hope,  therefore,  that,  taking  all  things  into  consideration 
you  will  approve  of  the  transaction." 

This  was  the  end  of  the  Sublette-Campbell  enterprise  on 
the  Missouri  and  it  left  the  American  Fur  Company  untram- 
meled  by  any  serious  opposition  for  several  years  to  come. 
The  arrangement  is  the  only  one  by  which  the  fur  territory 
was  ever  divided  among  the  traders,  and  this  was  only  for  a 
single  year.  The  many  statements  in  contemporary 
accounts  of  these  events,  that  the  American  and  Rocky 
Mountain  Fur  Companies  entered  into  agreements  of  this 
character,  are  without  foundation. 

In  all  of  McKenzie's  work,  as  just  narrated,  there  was 
nothing  for  which  he  can  be  properly  criticised.  He  had 
done  nothing  that  is  not  recognized  the  world  over  as  legiti- 
mate business.  It  does  not  appear  that  he  was  privy  to  the 
robbery  of  Fitzpatrick,  however  glad  he  may  have  been  that 
it  took  place.  Nowhere  in  his  relations  with  his  competi- 
tors did  he  treat  them  more  severely  than  the  recognized 
code  of  business  permits,  and  his  standing  with  his  oppo- 
nents was  as  high  as  with  his  own  people.  But,  unfortu- 
nately, under  the  heavy  strain  of  competition  of  the  year 
1832,  he  permitted  himself  to  take  a  false  step,  which,  like 
that  of  Cabanne  in  the  Leclerc  afifair,  ended  his  usefulness 
in  the  Indian  country. 

Among  the  articles  of  trade,  as  already  explained,  which 
were  exchanged  for  the  furs  of  the  Indians,  liquor  was  by 
far  the  most  imnortant.  It  is  indeed  imnossible  to  exag- 
gerate its  importance;  and  it  is  only  by  an  intimate  under- 


THE    LIQUOR  SITUATION.  355 

Standing-  of  the  conditions  of  the  business  that  one  can 
account  for  the  almost  frantic  appeals  which  were  continu- 
ally pouring  into  St.  Louis  for  more  liquor.  "  Liquor  we 
must  have  or  we  might  as  well  give  up,"  is  a  sample  of  the 
complaints  which  burdened  the  correspondence  of  the 
traders.  It  was  impossible  to  conduct  the  trade  without  it  if 
one's  opponents  were  provided  with  it.  The  only  alterna- 
tive was  to  retire  from  the  field.  The  Act  of  July  9,  1832, 
prohibiting  absolutely  the  introduction  of  liquor  into  the 
Indian  country,  was  therefore  simply  appalling  to  McKen- 
zie.  Here  was  the  great  opposition  of  Sublette  and  Camp- 
bell which  he  must  encounter  the  following  year.  He  had 
no  confidence  that  they  would  be  held  to  the  law  by  the 
inspectors  and  he  knew  that  if  they  were  they  would  smug- 
gle liquor  by  them.  He  had  learned  from  experience  that 
the  great  prominence  of  the  American  Fur  Company  made 
such  clandestine  work  doubly  difficult,  for  the  company  was 
always  operating  as  it  were  in  the  enemy's  country,  where 
there  was  a  spy  at  every  turn. 

One  point  in  McKenzie's  mind  was  settled  from  the  start. 
Law  or  no  law  he  must  be  equipped  with  liquor  when  the 
outfit  of  Sublette  and  Campbell  should  come  to  oppose  him. 
His  first  move  was  to  go  to  Washington  and  New  York  and 
see  if  he  could  not  effect  some  modification  of  the  regula- 
tion for  enforcing  the  law.  The  stock  argument  on  such 
occasions  always  was  that  the  liquor  was  wanted  only  to 
resist  the  competition  of  British  traders  who  made  free  use 
of  it  along  the  line.  McKenzie  was  entirely  unsuccessful 
in  his  mission,  and  returned  to  St.  Louis  with  gloomy  fore- 
bodings of  the  future.^  There  was  no  course  now  open, 
apart  from  extensive  smuggling,  which  was  an  extremely 
perilous  business  for  the  company  at  that  time,  except  to 
carry  out  an  ingenious  and  radical  measure,  which  for  some 

■^"The  total  exclusion  of  ardent  spirits,  and  the  difficulties  that  may 
grow  out  of  our  friend  Cabanne's  imprudent  course  toward  Leclerc, 
have  disheartened  Mr.  McKenzie  very  much,  and  he  parted  with  me 
[at  Washington]  in  desponding  anticipations  of  the  future."  Crooks  to 
Chouteau,  February  17,  1833. 


356  THE    FORT    UNION    DISTILLERY. 

time  had  been  developing  in  McKenzie's  mind.  This  was 
nothing  less  than  to  open  up  a  distillery  at  Fort  Union  and 
commence  the  manufacture  of  liquor  on  his  own  account. 
He  would  be  within  the  law,  he  reasoned,  because  that  for- 
bade only  the  importation  of  liquor  into  the  Indian  country ! 
To  such  feeble  subterfuges  did  the  exigencies  of  the  fur 
trade  drive  men  of  real  and  unquestioned  ability !  The 
house  in  St.  Louis  took  legal  advice  in  the  matter,  and,  aston- 
ishing as  it  may  seem,  succeeded  in  getting  an  opinion  in 
favor  of  the  project.  Armed  with  this  they  made  bold  to 
disregard  the  advice  of  that  sage  counselor  in  New  York, 
Ramsay  Crooks,  who  earnestly  besought  them  to  abandon 
any  thought  of  so  hazardous  a  venture.  In  the  letter  quoted 
in  the  footnote  above  he  said  :  "  The  excitement  against  us 
is  undoubtedly  greater  than  it  ought  to  be,  but  whether  well 
or  ill  founded,  the  effect  is  not  the  less  injurious,  and  we  are 
looked  upon  by  many  as  an  association  determined  to 
engross  the  trade  of  the  upper  Missouri,  by  fair  means  if  we 
can,  but  by  foul  proceedings  if  nothing  short  will  ensure  our 
objects.  With  such  a  reputation  it  becomes  us  to  be  more 
than  usually  circumspect  in  all  we  do.  Every  eye  is  upon 
us,  and  whoever  can  will  annoy  us  with  all  his  heart.  It  will 
therefore,  in  my  opinion,  be  madness  to  attempt  your  Cin- 
cinnati project  of  the  Boxes,  or  the  Alemhique."  What 
Boxes  refers  to  does  not  elsewhere  appear,  but  the  Alem- 
hique scheme  grew  into  a  shining  reality,  which  very  soon 
justified  Crooks'  opinion  of  it  as  a  scheme  of  "  madness." 

Referring  to  the  competition  of  British  traders  which  the 
Western  Department  had  represented  to  the  house  in  New 
York  as  the  principal  reason  why  they  must  use  liquor  in  the 
trade,  and  to  overtures  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  to 
Great  Britain  that  both  nations  prohibit  the  traffic  along  the 
border,  Mr.  Crooks  said:  "If  the  Government  of  Britain 
reject  the  proposal,  their  object  will  evidently  be  to  drive  us 
out  of  the  country,  and  deprive  tlie  United  States  of  a  trade 
which  justly  belongs  to  her  citizens ;  and  I  can  not  allow 
myself  to  believe  that  after  such  unequivocal  proof  of  their 


CARGO    OF    LIQUOR    CONFISCATED.  357 

real  intentions,  our  own  Government  will  persist  in  denying 
us  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  so  far  as  the  article  is  required 
to  place  us  on  an  equal  footing  with  our  commercial  rivals. 
But  still,  if  in  the  face  of  reason  and  common  sense,  the 
Executive  will  not  have  the  law  so  modified  as  to  afford  us 
a  fair  chance  with  our  Hudson  Bay  opponents,  I  would, 
hard  as  it  is,  rather  abandon  the  trade,  than  violate  the  stat- 
ute if  that  was  necessary  to  sustain  ourselves  against  them." 
Unhappily  these  wiser  counsels  did  not  prevail.  A  still 
was  procured  and  arrangements  were  made  to  put  it  into 
early  operation.  Two  boats  went  up  the  river  in  the  spring 
of  1833,  the  Yellowstone  and  a  new  boat,  the  Assiniboine. 
On  the  Yellowstone  were  two  distinguished  passengers,  Mc- 
Kenzie  himself,  and  Maximilian  Prince  of  Wied,  whose 
journey  to  the  upper  river  on  this  occasion  has  done  so 
much  to  preserve  the  early  history  of  that  country.  The 
voyage  passed  off  prosperously  enough  until  Fort  Leaven- 
worth was  reached.  McKenzie  had  determined  to  try  his 
luck  in  getting  some  liquor  past  the  inspectors,  but  his 
attempt  quickly  came  to  grief.  The  inspection  was  very 
strict.  Maximilian  lamented  that  "  they  would  scarcely  per- 
mit us  to  take  a  small  portion  to  preserve  our  specimens  of 
natural  history."  McKenzie  wrote  to  Chouteau  from  the 
Black  Snake  Hills  (St.  Joseph)  to  the  following  effect: 
"  We  have  been  robbed  of  all  our  liquors,  say  seven  barrels 
shrub,  one  of  rum,  one  of  wine  and  all  the  fine  men  and 
sailors'  whiskey  which  was  in  two  barrels.  They  kicked 
and  knocked  about  everything  they  could  find  and  even  cut 
through  our  bales  of  blankets  which  had  never  been  undone 
since  they  were  put  up  in  England."  It  is  apparent  that 
the  inspectors  handled  the  cargo  without  ceremony,  and  that 
all  the  liquor  was  confiscated.  The  affair  worried  McKen- 
zie, as  he  said,  so  much  that  he  could  not  rest.  He  had 
obtained  what  seemed  to  be  indisputable  proof  that  Sub- 
lette and  Campbell  had  on  their  steamboat  one  hundred  of 
the  flat  alcohol  kegs  used  in  the  mountains.  "  The  more 
I  think  of  it,"  he  wrote,  "  the  clearer  I  see  the  injury  we  are 


358  SUCCESS    OF    DISTILLERY. 

going  to  sustain  by  being  deprived  of  that  article."  To  add 
to  his  anxiety  he  had  so  far  failed  to  find  a  suitable  man  for 
operating  his  distillery.  But  he  had  to  make  a  virtue  of 
necessity  and  go  on  handicapped  as  he  was. 

On  his  way  up  he  put  off  a  force  of  laborers  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Iowa  river  to  start  a  corn  plantation,  for  it  was  upon 
corn  that  he  would  mainly  have  to  rely  for  his  distillery. 
He  probably  took  along  a  cargo  of  corn  from  Council  Bluffs 
on  his  way.  At  Fort  Pierre  the  Yellowstone  turned  back, 
while  McKenzie  and  Maximilian  went  on  in  the  Assiniboine 
and  arrived  without  further  incident  at  Fort  Union  on  the 
24th  of  June. 

The  distillery  was  at  once  set  up  and  was  in  operation 
when  Wyeth  passed  Fort  Union  two  months  later.  There 
is  abundant  evidence  that  the  experiment  was  a  complete 
success.  McKenzie  was  greatly  elated  over  the  result,  for 
it  placed  him  on  a  footing  of  independence  and  unquestioned 
superiority  over  his  rivals.  His  letters  on  the  subject,  writ- 
ten in  the  following  December,  are  interesting  reading.  To 
Chouteau  he  wrote :  "  Our  manufactory  flourishes  admi- 
rably. We  only  want  corn  to  keep  us  going.  The  Mandan 
corn  yields  badly  but  makes  a  fine,  sweet  liquor.  Do  not 
load  the  boat  too  heavily  at  St.  Louis,  that  a  few  hundred 
bushels  of  corn  may  be  placed  on  board  at  the  Bluffs.  .  . 
Surely  you  will  contrive  some  means  of  passing  alcohol  to 
the  Bluffs  for  the  Sioux  trade.  It  is  hard  that  new  hands 
and  limited  means  should  have  such  advantages  over  us." 
And  to  Crooks  in  reference  to  Sublette  and  Campbell :  "We 
have  every  advantage  that  experience  of  the  Indian  trade 
and  knowledge  of  the  Indians  can  give,  but  at  the  lower 
posts  they  have  abundance  of  alcohol  and  we  are  destitute, 
and  you  know  how  fond  some  Indians  are  of  strong  water. 
For  this  post  I  have  established  a  manufactory  of  strong 
water.  It  succeeds  admirably.  I  have  a  good  corn  mill,  a 
respectable  distillery,  and  can  produce  as  fine  a  liquor  as 
need  be  drunk.  I  believe  that  no  law  of  the  United  States 
is  thereby  broken  [ !]  though  perhaps  one  may  be  made  to 


THE    WAY    OF    THE    TRANSGRESSOR.  359 

break  up  my  distillery.  But  liquor  I  must  have  or  quit  any 
pretension  to  trade  in  this  part."  By  the  same  express  he 
sent  a  letter  to  Pilcher  at  Council  Bluffs  urging  him  to  send 
up  a  good  supply  of  corn  in  the  spring,  or,  he  added  "  my 
wine  vats  will  be  idle." 

But  alas!  at  the  very  moment  in  which  McKenzie  was 
writing  his  exultant  letter  to  his  chief  in  St.  Louis,  the  latter 
was  agitated  with  very  different  emotions,  for  he  had  but 
lately  experienced  in  a  forcible  way  the  truth  of  the  adage 
that  the  way  of  the  transgressor  is  not  an  easy  one.  The 
distillery  business  had  been  reported  to  the  United  States 
Government,  and  mischief  enough  was  to  pay.  It  happened 
in  this  way:  On  August  24,  1833,  there  arrived  at  Fort 
Union  that  irrepressible  Yankee  adventurer.  Nathaniel  J. 
Wyeth,  who  was  on  his  way  east  in  the  interests  of  his  busi- 
ness. With  him  was  also  M.  S.  Cerre,  Captain  Bonneville's 
principal  man.  McKenzie  received  these  gentlemen  with 
true  fur  trader  hospitality,  in  which  he  had  been  admirably 
schooled  during  his  service  with  the  British  Northwest  Com- 
pany. His  house  was  wide  open  to  his  guests.  He  gave 
them  the  best  that  he  had  —  bread,  cheese,  milk,  excellent 
meat,  and  even  wine  —  luxuries  which  they  had  not  tasted 
for  many  a  long  month.  He  showed  them  about  his  post, 
explained  everything,  and  in  his  enthusiasm  so  far  forgot 
his  wonted  discretion  as  to  permit  them  to  see  the  distillery. 
The  guests  were  most  agreeably  impressed  with  the  liberal- 
ity of  their  host,  and  probably  would  have  left  him  with  a 
sense  of  obligation  that  would  have  put  a  bridle  on  their 
tongues,  had  it  not  been  for  a  circumstance  that  marked  the 
close  of  their  visit.  They  bought  a  considerable  quantity 
of  supplies  from  McKenzie,  and  applied  to  him  for  some 
liquor.  They  then  quickly  learned  the  difference  between 
the  generous  host  and  the  competing  trader.  No  liquor  was 
to  be  had.  McKenzie  was  not  going  to  arm  his  opponents 
with  the  most  powerful  weapon  which  they  could  wield 
against  him.  When  they  came  to  make  settlement  for  their 
purchases  they  again  found  that  they  were  dealing  with  the 


360  IS    NOT    AN    EASY    ONE. 

trader  and  no  longer  with  the  host.  There  was  no  hospital- 
ity in  the  prices  charged,  which  were  all  on  the  basis  of  the 
exorbitant  retail  prices  of  the  Indian  country.  Wyeth  and 
Cerre  were  indignant  at  this  treatment,  but,  smothering  their 
resentment,  they  settled  their  bills  without  a  murmur  and 
bided  their  time  for  revenge. 

The  opportunity  was  not  long  delayed.  When  the  irate 
travelers  arrived  at  Fort  Leavenworth  they  appeared  before 
an  Indian  agent  at  that  place  and  made  affidavit  to  the  facts 
that  they  had  observed  at  Fort  Union,  and  alleged  that  the 
American  Fur  Company  was  there  "  making  and  vending 
whiskey  in  quantity."  The  agent  promptly  wrote  to  General 
Wm.  Clark,  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  in  St.  Louis, 
setting  forth  the  information  contained  in  the  affidavits. 
General  Clark  in  turn  wrote  to  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  Novem- 
ber 14th,  enclosing  the  communication  from  the  Indian 
agent,  and  asking  for  such  explanation  as  he  should  "  think 
proper  to  give."  Nine  days  later  Chouteau  returned  an 
answer  which,  for  ingenuity,  surpassed  even  the  distillery 
scheme  itself.  After  protesting  ignorance  that  operations 
were  being  carried  on  at  Union  "  in  the  manner  and  to  the 
extent  stated,"  and  disclaiming  all  responsibility  for  such 
unauthorized  acts,  he  gave  the  following  statement  of  the 
extent  of  the  company's  connection  with  the  matter :  "  The 
company,  believing  that  wild  pears  and  berries  might  be  con- 
verted into  wine  (which  they  did  not  understand  to  be  pro- 
hibited), did  authorize  experiments  to  be  made,  and  if,  under 
color  of  this,  ardent  spirits  have  been  distilled  and  vended,  it 
is  without  the  knowledge,  authority,  or  direction  of  the  com- 
pany, and  I  will  take  measures,  by  sending  immediately  an 
express  to  arrest  the  operation  complained  of,  if  found  to 
exist."  The  express  was  sent  and  the  disappointed  McKen- 
zie  was  destined  to  see  his  brilliant  prospects  blasted  in  their 
bloom. 

In  sending  the  express,  Chouteau  so  far  forgot 
his  own  part  in  the  affair  as  to  administer  a  rebuke  to 
McKenzie  for  *'  having  placed  the  company  in  an  unpleasant 


EXPERIMENTING    ON    THE    FRUITS    OF    THE    COUNTRY.  361 

situation."  McKenzie  was  cut  to  the  quick,  and  replied 
that  while  he  was  perfectly  willing  to  be  made  the  scapegoat 
in  the  affair,  providing  "  the  company  be  thereby  benefited," 
yet  he  would  not  permit  the  imputation  that  he  had  taken 
any  step  to  which  the  management  at  St.  Louis  was  not  a 
party.  In  spite  of  his  irritation,  however,  he  hastened  to 
his  patron's  assistance,  and  fabricated  two  letters  designed 
to  furnish  a  plausible  explanation  of  the  presence  of  the  dis- 
tillery at  Fort  Union.  The  purport  of  them  was  that  a 
friend  of  McKenzie,  living  in  the  Red  River  colony,  had 
asked  him  to  purchase  a  still  while  he  was  in  the  States  in 
the  spring  of  1833,  and  have  it  sent  to  Pembina.  McKen- 
zie did  this  and  transported  it  up  the  river  as  far  as  Fort 
Union.  While  holding  it  there  until  called  for,  an  Ameri- 
can citizen,  who  knew  something  about  its  operation,  had 
turned  up  at  the  fort  and  requested  permission  to  experi- 
ment with  it  upon  the  "  fruits  of  the  country."  The  request 
was  granted,  the  distillery  set  up,  and  the  manufacture  of 
"  wine "  was  begun.  The  result  was  satisfactory  and  a 
"  very  palatable  article "  was  produced ;  but  the  whole 
affair  was  in  the  nature  of  a  passing  experiment,  and  had 
no  relation  to  the  company's  business. 

Neither  Chouteau's  lame  excuse  tp  General  Clark  nor 
McKenzie's  feeble  invention  sejxv^dAS;  exculpate  the  com- 
pany. The  news  quickly  reached  M^^shington  both  through 
ofiicial  channels  and  through  the  ma'ny  enemies  of  the  com- 
pany. The  government  authorities  were  highly  incensed  at 
this  obvious  contempt  of  law,  and  coming  as  it  did  upon  the 
heels  of  the  Leclerc  incident  and  Fitzpatrick's  robbery,^  it 
came  very  near  proving  disastrous.    The  company  had  a  life 

* "  In  a  letter  to  General  Ashley,  Fitzpatrick  accuses  the  company  of 
having  instigated  the  savages  to  commit  certain  depredations  of  which 
he  was  the  victim,  and  it  appears  that  this  letter  has  been  sent  to  the  De- 
partment of  Indian  Afifairs.  The  dragoons  will  perhaps  be  ordered  to 
make  a  tour  along  the  base  of  the  mountains,  and  in  that  case  it  is  pos- 
sible that  they  will  pay  you  a  visit.  You  will  therefore  prepare  for  their 
reception  and  especially  for  any  searches  which  they  may  make  if  they 
go."     Chouteau  to  McKenzie,  April  8,  1834. 


362  PROMOTING    THE    CAUSE    OF    BOTANY. 

and  death  struggle  and  it  was  only  by  a  dangerously  nar- 
row margin  that  it  saved  its  license.  How  great  was  the 
peril  may  be  judged  from  the  following  letter  sent  by  the 
house  in  St.  Louis  to  McKenzie  in  the  spring  of  1834. 
Referring  to  the  express  of  the  previous  winter  which  went 
up  with  orders  to  stop  the  use  of  the  distillery,  the  letter 
says :  "  In  asking  you  to  stop  at  once  its  operation,  we 
now  urgently  renew  the  request,  and  however  painful  it  may 
be  to  destroy  an  establishment  which  promised  such  excel- 
lent results,  it  is  nevertheless  of  the  most  urgent  necessity  to 
submit.  Otherwise  we  shall  expose  ourselves  to  the  greatest 
embarrassments.  It  was  only  b)^  the  assurance  of  our  Mr. 
Chouteau  to  the  Secretary  of  War  that  we  would  conform 
to  the  government  regulations  pertaining  to  the  Indian  trade 
that  the  affair  has  not  been  followed  up.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances we  think  it  will  be  prudent  to  send  the  still 
down  or  to  dispose  of  it  otherwise  so  that  it  may  give  offense 
to  no  one."  '^ 

The  distillery  incident  seems  to  have  practically  closed 
McKenzie's  career  in  the  Indian  country.  He  came  down 
the  river  in  the  summer  of  1834  and  visited  Europe.  Upon 
his  return  he  went  back  to  Union  for  a  short  time,  but  soon 
left  the  country  and  established  himself  at  St.  Louis. 

^  On  what  special  plea  the  company  through  its  political  backer. 
Senator  Benton,  succeeded  in  averting  disaster  is  not  now  very  clear,  but 
a  hint  at  the  crafty  methods  employed  is  furnished  in  the  following  let- 
ter   from    Crooks    to    Chouteau,    February    23,    1834 :     "  The    General 

tells  me  that  you  had  the  address  to  persuade  Judge  H that  your 

distillery  at  the  Yellowstone  was  only  intended  to  promote  the  cause 
of  botany.  But  prcnes-y-gardc.  Don't  presume  too  much  on  your 
recent  escape  from  an  accusation  which  might  have  been  attended  with 
serious  consequences.  The  less  of  this  sort  of  business  you  do,  the  bet- 
ter, for  the  time  may,  and  very  probably  will,  come  when  you  will 
be  exposed  by  the  endless  number  of  spies  you  have  around  you." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  AMERICAN  FUR  COMPANY. 
1834-  1843. 

Mr.  Astor  retires  —  Pratte,  Chouteau  and  Company  —  The  mountain 
trade  —  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  and  Company  —  Opposition  in  the  year 
1842  —  Andrew  Drips  made  Indian  agent  —  Liquor  at  Fort  Platte  — 
Fox,  Livingston  and  Company  —  Experience  of  Mr.  Kelsey  —  Mr.  Cut- 
ting and  the  Assiniboine  chief — Fox,  Livingston  and  Company  retire  — 
Battle  of  Fort  McKenzie  —  Situation  in  1843. 

'TT'HE  year  1834  witnessed  a  momentous  change  in  the 
^^  American  Fur  Company  —  nothing  less  than  the 
retirement  of  its  founder  from  further  connection  with  its 
affairs.  Mr.  Astor  had  for  several  years  meditated  this 
move.  He  was  now  advanced  in  life,  and  his  great  wealth 
relieved  him  from  the  necessity  of  concerning  himself  in  the 
future  with  the  exacting  cares  of  business  life.'  But  like  all 
earnest  and  active  men,  he  could  not  easily  bring  himself  to 
the  point  of  actual  retirement.  The  reluctance  to  yield  to 
the  truth  that  age  is  coming  on,  together  with  the  real  inter- 
est which  a  man  of  business  never  ceases  to  feel  in  active 
affairs,  made  it  difficult  for  him  to  let  go  of  the  company 
which  he,  single-handed,  had  created.  It  was  a  monument 
to  his  genius  such  as  few  men  have  been  able  to  erect,  and 
it  was  endeared  to  him  by  the  very  struggles  which  he  had 
passed  through  and  the  difficulties  which  he  had  been  com- 
pelled to  overcome.  We  may  well  appreciate  the  force  of 
Mr.  Crooks'  remark  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Chouteau  while  the 
negotiations  for  the  transfer  were  going  on,  that  "  the  busi- 
ness seems  to  him  like  an  only  child  and  he  can  not  muster 
courage  to  part  with  it."  This  was  written  in  March, 
1833. 


364  MR.    ASTOR    RETIRES    FROM    THE    COMPANY. 

It  was  only  three  months  later  that  Mr.  Astor,  from  Ge- 
neva, Switzerland,  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Messrs. 
Bernard  Pratte  and  Company,  St.  Louis,  Missouri :  "  Gen- 
tlemen— Wishing  to  retire  from  the  concern  in  which  I  am 
engaged  with  your  house,  you  will  please  to  take  this  as 
notice  thereof,  and  that  the  engagement  entered  into  on  the 
7th  of  May,  1830,  between  your  house  and  me,  on  the  part 
of  the  American  Fur  Company,  will  expire  with  the  outfit 
of  the  present  year  on  the  terms  expressed  in  said  agree- 
ment." 

Mr.  Astor  was  no  doubt  partly  influenced  to  take  this  step 
in  view  of  impending  changes  which  he  foresaw  must  soon 
overtake  the  fur  trade.  While  in  London  the  summer  before 
he  had  noted  the  beginning  of  the  downfall  of  the  beaver 
trade.  He  said  in  a  letter  written  at  the  time :  "  I  very 
much  fear  beaver  will  not  sell  well  very  soon  unless  very 
fine.  It  appears  that  they  make  hats  of  silk  in  place  of 
beaver." 

The  negotiations  thus  initiated  by  Mr.  Astor  himself  came 
to  a  termination  on  the  ist  of  June,  1834,  when  the  North- 
ern Department,  retaining  the  name  of  American  Fur  Com- 
pany, was  sold  to  a  company  of  which  Ramsay  Crooks  was 
the  principal  partner,  and  the  Western  Department  to 
Pratte,  Chouteau  and  Company  of  St,  Louis.^ 

^ "  Mr.  J.  J.  Astor  having  decided  to  retire  from  business,  our  relations 
with  him  have  in  consequence  terminated  and  our  house  is  today  under 
the  style  of  Pratte,  Chouteau  and  Company.  As  a  consequence  of  this 
change,  we  have  found  it  necessary  to  make  an  arrangement  with  Mr, 
Sublette  by  which  we  make  mutual  concessions.  He  is  to  abandon  the 
Missouri  trade  and  we  that  of  the  mountains,  after  the  present  expedi- 
tion, it  is  understood."     Pratte,  Chouteau  and  Company,  April  9,  1834. 

By  a  letter  of  the  previous  day  to  McKenzie  the  latter  was  requested 
to  come  to  St.  Louis  and  renew  the  arrangement  with  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri Outfit  for  the  next  four  years. 

In  adjusting  the  affairs  of  the  company  at  this  time  an  appraisement 
was  made  of  the  various  posts  by  representatives  of  both  parties.  Mr. 
Astor's  man  estimated  their  value  at  $8,250,  and  Pratte,  Chouteau  and 
Company's  representatives  at  $4,500.  These  figures  show  how  flimsy 
most  of  these  structures  must  have  been. 


ESTABLISHMENT    OF    FORT    JOHN.  365 

By  this  important  arrangement  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany retired  permanently  from  the  Western  trade,  which 
now  reverted  to  the  control  of  the  St.  Louis  traders.  The 
company  had  been  at  St.  Louis  just  twelve  years,  and  in  that 
time  had  established  itself  beyond  the  power  of  any  rival  con- 
cern seriously  to  disturb  it.  Although  the  name  American 
Fur  Company  did  not  properly  apply  to  the  new  firm,  it  was 
nevertheless,  in  popular  usage,  retained  for  many  years  to 
come. 

The  affairs  of  the  company  during  the  decade  from  1834 
to  1843  present  nothing  of  unusual  interest.  The  business 
continued  under  the  regular  routine  and  no  serious  opposi- 
tion arose  until  1842.  The  arrangement  with  Sublette  and 
Campbell  for  a  division  of  the  fur  trade  territory  did  not 
operate  to  keep  the  American  Fur  Company  out  of  the  moun- 
tains. Fontenelle  took  out  parties  in  both  the  years  1834 
and  1835.  Fitzpatrick,  Sublette,  and  Bridger  severed  their 
connection  with  Sublette  in  1834,  and  formed  a  partnership 
with  Fontenelle,  thus  merging  the  remnants  of  the  expiring 
Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  with  its  great  rival  on  the^ 
Missouri.  Sublette's  new  post  on  the  Laramie  was  bought 
by  Fontenelle  and  his  associates  at  about  the  same  time  and 
the  American  Fur  Company  thus  established  itself  in  the 
last  of  its  great  depots  of  trade.  Fort  John,  as  this  post 
came  to  be  known,  ranked  with  McKenzie,  Cass,  and  Clark 
in  impo-rtance. 

The  mountain  trade  had  neVer  succeeded  well  with  the 
American  Fur  Company.  Their  expeditions  were  scarcely 
ever  on  the  ground  in  time  to  compete  with  their  indefatiga- 
ble rivals  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Company.^  They  lost 
heavily  from  the  Indians,  and  on  the  whole  the  trade  was  far 
from  being  profitable.  The  management  at  St.  Louis 
became  thoroughly  tired  of  this  branch  of  the  business,  and 
it  was  only  the  fear  of  loss  of  prestige  with  the  Indians  and 

'"We  have  always  been  too  late  [at  rendezvous]  and  our  opponents 
in  the  country  make  a  great  boast  of  it."  Fontenelle  to  Chouteau,  July 
31,  1833,  from  the  rendezvous  on  Green  river. 


366  MOUNTAIN    TRADE    UNPROFITABLE. 

trappers  that  kept  them  from  abandoning  it  altogether.  The 
following  reference  to  this  subject  in  a  letter  from  Chou- 
teau to  Astor,  written  May  4,  1833,  illustrates  the  views  of 
the  Western  Department :  "I  am  convinced  that  these 
expeditions  have  been  an  annual  loss.  But  we  have  hoped 
for  improvement  from  year  to  year.  Generally  the  loss 
falls  upon  the  traders.  If  the  expeditions  to  the  upper 
Missouri  had  confined  themselves  entirely  to  the  trade  [at 
regular  posts]  its  returns  would  have  been  greater  and  its 
expenses  much  less.  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  the  unfavor- 
able prospect,  I  do  not  think  it  politic  to  abandon  this  trade 
for  the  present.  Just  at  the  time  when  Sublette  and  Com- 
pany are  opposing  us  on  the  Missouri  it  is  not  for  us  to 
leave  the  mountains  exclusively  to  them." 

The  mountain  business  therefore  went  on  much  as  before. 
The  command  of  the  annual  expeditions,  after  the  death  of 
Fontenelle  in  1836,  was  given  to  Andrew  Drips,  who 
retained  it  until  as  late  as  1840.  James  Bridger  also  con- 
ducted trapping  parties  through  the  mountains  for  several 
years  in  the  interest  of  the  American  Fur  Company.^ 
About  1840  or  1 84 1  he  was  associated  with  Benito  Vasquez 
in  charge  of  an  extensive  outfit.  These  two  men  continued 
in  partnership  for  several  years,  and  in  1843  built  the  noted 
fort  on  Black's  Fork  of  Green  river  to  which  Bridger's 
name  was  given.  This  event  marks  the  termination  of  the 
organized  fur  trade  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

In  the  year  1838  the  company  management  underwent 
another  modification  in  which  the  name  was  changed  from 
Pratte,  Chouteau  and  Company  to  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  and 
Company  —  a  name  which  continued  nearly,  if  not  quite, 

'  An  important  event  in  Rocky  mountain  history  should  be  placed  to 
the  credit  of  the  mountain  expeditions  of  the  American  Fur  Company. 
In  the  spring  of  1834,  W.  A.  Ferris,  who  had  spent  the  winter  among  the 
Flatheads,  made  a  visit  to  the  Upper  Geyser  Basin  of  the  Yellowstone 
Park.  He  went  from  a  point  near  where  Beaver  Canon,  Idaho,  now  is 
and  was  at  the  Upper  Basin  May  20,  1834.  His  account  of  this  visit, 
published  in  the  Western  Literary  Messenger,  of  Buffalo,  New  York, 
is  the  first  published  account  of  this  region. 


OPPfSITION    COMPANIES.  367 

to  the  date  when  the  company  retired  permanently  from  the 
business.'* 

In  the  year  1842  the  company  was  again  considerably 
perturbed  by  the  presence  of  an  imposing  opposition.  No 
fewer  than  six  rival  companies  were  in  the  field,  some  of 
them  for  the  first  time.  Lupton  and  Bent  and  St.  Vrain  op- 
erated mainly  in  the  territory  to  the  southwest.  The  prin- 
cipal opposition  on  the  Missouri  was  Fox,  Livingston  and 
Company,  and  William  P.  May  and  Company.  On  the 
north  fork  of  the  Platte  and  in  the  neighboring  country  the 
firms  of  Pratte,  Cabanne  and  Company  and  Sybille  and 
Company  strove  to  divert  a  portion  of  the  trade  from  the 
company's  establishment  at  Fort  John  on  the  Laramie. 

The  American  Fur  Company  met  this  formidable  oppo- 
sition by  a  shrewd  move  which,  during  the  next  four  years, 
proved  a  great  element  of  strength  in  its  favor.  It  secured 
the  revival  of  the  office  of  Indian  agent  for  the  tribes  of  the 
Upper  Missouri  and  the  appointment  of  one  of  its  own  most 
trusted  and  experienced  traders,  Andrew  Drips,  as  agent. 
It  did  this  upon  the  ground  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  liquor 
traffic.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  sincerity  of  the' com- 
pany in  this  matter,  although  its  action  was  based  upon 
purely  selfish  motives.  It  had  no  f^ar  of  opposition  in  the 
ordinary  business  of  the  trade,  but  it  dreaded  the  use  of 
liquor  by  its  opponents.  Without  this  article  its  own  power 
would  count  for  nothing,  even  against  the  most  worthless 
opponent  who  might  be  supplied  with  it.  It  was  therefore 
of  the  first  importance  to  break  up  the  practice  of  smug- 
gling, and  the  company  for  once  found  itself  in  the  happy 
position  of  being  able  to  serve  its  own  interests  by  a  zealous 
enforcement  of  the  laws  of  the  country. 

The  correspondence  still  in  the  possession  of  the  descend- 
ants of  Major  Drips  shows  conclusively  that  the  appoint- 
ment of  this  able  and  experienced  trader  was  due  to  the  influ- 

*  This  was  in  1864.  when  the  old  company  sold  out  to  the  Northwest- 
ern Fur  Company,  which  was  organized  by  J.  B.  Hubbell  of  St.  Paul, 
Minn. 


■z^ 


368  ANDREW    DRIPS    INDIAN    AGENT. 

ence  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  and  that  they  were  not 
slow  to  exact  a  return  for  their  services  when  he  entered 
upon  his  new  duties.^  Never  before  in  the  history  of  the 
fur  trade  had  any  agent  taken  such  energetic  measures  to 
enforce  the  law  prohibiting  the  importation  or  use  of  liquor 
into  the  Indian  country.  The  new  agent  traveled  over  the 
entire  Western  country,  not  even  stopping  for  the  cold  of 
winter,  and  did  everything  which  his  limited  means  permit- 
ted to  break  up  the  traffic  among  the  opposition  traders.  At 
the  same  time  he  granted  the  American  Fur  Company  every 
possible  facility  for  pursuing  their  rivals.  They  were 
authorized  in  express  terms  to  establish  trading  posts 
wherever  Fox,  Livingston  and  Company,  or  Pratte,  Cabanne 
and  Company  might  establish  them.  While  it  is  not  likely 
that  a  man  of  Major  Drips'  high  character  deliberately  used 
his  official  position  for  the  benefit  of  his  old  company,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  his  administration  operated  strongly  to  that 
end.  Mr.  F.  Cutting,  resident  agent  of  Fox.  Livingston 
and  Company,  openly  accused  him  of  gross  favoritism  to  the 
American  Fur  Company,  and  demanded  his  removal  from 
office.  The  charges,  however,  were  denied  by  Major  Drips 
and  no  notice  was  taken  of  them  by  the  Department  at 
Washington. 

The  opposition  to  the  company  on  the  Platte  river  was  of 
considerable  importance.  Pratte,  Cabanne  and  Company, 
who  owned  Fort  Platte,  succeeded  in  smuggling  in  some 
three  hundred  gallons  of  alcohol,  a  portion  of  which  was 
brought  in  by  a  man  named  Richards,  notorious  for  his 
character  as  a  lawless  desperado.  It  is  supposed  that  he 
brought  it  from  the  Mexican  territory.  At  this  period  the 
practice  of  smuggling  liquor  from  Santa  Fe  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  Arkansas  and  Platte  rivers  had  become  a 
regular  business  and  led  the  War  Department  to  station  a 

*  "  Heretofore  zve  traders  have  never  thought  the  government  in  earn- 
est when  they  spoke  about  Hquor.  I  hope  that  you  will  teach  us  now 
that  such  is  no  longer  the  case."  J.  F.  A.  Sanford,  Agent  of  the  Amer- 
ican Fur  Company,  to  Drips,  July  10,  1843. 


FOX,    LIVINGSTON    AND    COMPANY.  369 

company  of  dragoons  on  the  Arkansas  in  1843.^  Major 
Drips  sent  J.  V.  Hamilton  to  Fort  Platte  to  investigate  the 
matter,  and  armed  him  with  written  authority  to  confiscate 
the  property  of  the  offending  company  and  to  expel  them 
from  the  country.  But  the  shrewd  traders  were  too  quick 
for  him.  They  raised  the  caches  where  the  liquor  was  con- 
cealed within  the  fort  and  hurried  it  to  a  secure  hiding 
place  outside.  When  Hamilton  arrived  he  could  only  find 
the  fresh  evidences  of  the  empty  caches,  and  rumors  of  the 
recent  presence  of  liquor  there,  but  of  positive  proof  he  could 
find  none. 

The  Fort  Platte  traders  carried  on  a  feeble  opposition  to 
the  American  Fur  Company  for  a  number  of  years,  but 
could  make  no  permanent  impression  upon  the  country  and 
finally  succumbed  to  their  powerful  rival. 

The  firm  of  Fox,  Livingston  and  Company,  also  called 
the  Union  Fur  Company,  and  frequently  Ebbetts  and  Cut- 
ting from  the  names  of  the  resident  agents,  was  the  most 
powerful  opposition  with  which  the  Upper  Missouri  Outfit 
ever  had  to  deal  excepting  only  that  of  Sublette  and  Camp- 
bell ten  years  before.  The  rise  of  this  company  is  thus 
sketched  by  Charles  Larpenteur  in  his  Forty  Years  a  Fur 
Trader.  The  partner,  Ebbetts,  went  up  the  river  in  1841 
with  a  small  equipment  to  trade  upon  his  own  account.     The 

* "  I  would  particularly  call  the  attention  of  the  Department  to  a  de- 
scription of  traders  who  reside  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Mexican  country 
on  the  waters  of  the  Arkansas.  They  cultivate  corn,  etc.,  which  they 
trade  to  the  Indians  for  robes  and  skins  with  which  they  proceed  to 
Santa  Fe  and  Taos  and  barter  for  whiskey,  flour,  etc.  These  latter 
articles  they  again  bring  to  the  Indians  with  whom  they  trade  in  oppo- 
sition to,  and  much  to  the  detriment  of,  the  regular  licensed  traders. 
They  defy  a  United  States  agent,  and  want  of  a  proper  force  at  the 
latter's  command  permits  them  to  act  with  impunity.  They  reside  in 
two  villages,  one  on  the  American,  and  the  other  within  the  Mexican, 
line.  They  are  a  mongrel  crew  of  Americans,  French,  Mexicans,  and 
half-breeds,  and,  generally  speaking,  are  unable  to  procure  employment 
on  account  of  past  misconduct.  In  fact,  they  are  no  better  than  out- 
laws." Drips  to  Thomas  H.  Harvey,  Superintendent  Indian  Affairs,  St. 
Louis.    Dated  at  Fort  Pierre,  April  11,  1845. 


3/0  MISREPRESENTATIONS    OF    AGENT    EBBETTS. 

American  Fur  Company  did  not  pay  much  attention  to  him 
and  he  made  an  exceedingly  profitable  trade.  Upon  the 
strength  of  this  he  went  to  New  York  and  approached  the 
firm  of  Fox,  Livingston  and  Company  with  a  view  of  enlist- 
ing them  in  the  business.  The  evidence  of  his  own  success 
was  convincing,  and  his  statem^ent  that  the  American  Fur 
Company  was  in  a  bad  way  and  losing  its  hold  upon  the 
country  was  believed.  A  new  firm  was  organized  for  this 
trade,  under  the  style  of  the  Union  Fur  Company,  and  one 
of  its  members,  a  Mr.  Kelsey,  was  deputed  to  reside  in  the 
Indian  country  and  co-operate  with  the  agents,  Ebbetts  and 
Cutting,  in  the  management  of  the  business.  The  license 
granted  the  new  company  enumerated  a  great  number  of 
points  throughout  the  Indian  country  where  they  might 
establish  posts ;  but  their  principal  establishments  were  fixed 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  where  old  Fort  William 
was  re-occupied  and  called  Fort  Mortimer,  and  in  the  Sioux 
country  twenty  miles  below  Fort  Pierre,  where  the  post  of 
Fort  George  was  built. 

Promptly  with  the  opening  of  the  season  of  1842  the 
Union  Fur  Company  went  up  the  river  with  the  steamboat 
Nezv  Haven  laden  with  a  full  and  complete  outfit  and  pro- 
ceeded to  establish  trading  posts  everywhere  in  opposition 
to  the  American  Fur  Company.  But  Mr.  Kelsey  soon 
found,  as  he  entered  the  Indian  country,  that  Mr.  Ebbetts' 
roseate  view  of  the  prospects  of  trade  in  that  region  was 
absurdly  overdrawn.  It  became  more  and  more  evident  that 
his  company  had  been  grossly  deceived  and  that  their  enter- 
prise was  destined  to  be  a  losing  one.  But  they  had  now 
gone  too  far  to  withdraw,  and  putting  the  best  face  on  their 
dubious  prospect,  they  entered  upon  their  work  with  every 
possible  proof  of  a  determination  to  succeed.  They  exhib- 
ited from  the  start  a  facility  for  evading  the  law  and  resort- 
ing to  desperate  measures,  which  was  never  surpassed  even 
by  the  American  Fur  Company  itself;  and  in  spite  of  all 
that  Major  Drips  could  do  they  succeeded  in  smuggling 
quantities  of  liquor  to  nearly  all  of  their  posts. 


SIMENEAU    ISLAND    GANG.  3/1 

Fort  George  in  the  Sioux  country  was  their  first  and 
principal  estabhshment,  and  hither  Mr.  Kelsey  retired  after 
a  trip  on  the  boat  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone.  Mr. 
Kelsey  found  himself  in  the  hands  of  a  most  desperate  set  of 
outlaws  who  were  ready  to  go  to  any  length  of  rascality  that 
opportunity  or  inclination  might  suggest.  Kelsey  made 
effective  use  of  them  for  awhile  in  opposing  his  rivals. 
When  the  trader  William  P.  May  came  down  the  river  in 
1843  with  a  boat  load  of  furs,  Kelsey's  men  fired  upon  the 
boat,  compelled  him  to  land,  and  then  confiscated  his  cargo. 
As  soon  as  Fort  George  was  established  the  American  Fur 
Company  sent  a  trader  named  Bonis  down  from  Fort  Pierre 
to  set  up  a  lodge  with  an  assortment  of  goods  to  oppose  the 
new  company.  He  had  not  been  there  very  long  before  the 
employes  at  Fort  George,  who  seemed  to  be  drunk  most  of 
the  time,  made  a  raid  upon  him  and  cut  his  lodge  all  to 
pieces.  He  was  relieved  by  J.  V.  Hamilton,  who  promptly 
reported  to  Fort  Pierre  that  the  situation  at  Fort  George  was 
such  that  his  life  was  in  continual  danger. 

In  fact  Kelsey  soon  found  that  he  could  not  himself  con- 
trol the  desperate  band  whom  he  was  using  against  his 
opponents.  Some  of  them  had  established  themselves  on 
Simeneau's  Island  opposite  Fort  George  and  near  the  east 
shore.  Here  they  took  possession  of  an  old  cabin  and  bade 
defiance  to  Mr.  Kelsey.  This  gentleman,  who  seems  to  have 
been  a  man  of  nerve  and  spirit,  ordered  them  to  leave  the 
island,  and  upon  their  refusal  to  do  so  armed  himself  and 
proceeded  to  see  that  his  orders  were  carried  out.  Two  of 
the  men  he  shot  dead  on  the  spot  and  severely  wounded  two 
others.  Dreading  the  consequences  of  this  desperate  per- 
formance he  is  said  to  have  left  the  post  the  following  night 
and  to  have  fled  to  Mexico.  Major  Drips  secured  several 
affidavits  from  persons  acquainted  with  the  affair  and  these 
are  now  presumably  on  file  in  the  Department  at  Washing- 
ton. 

Mr.  Cutting,  who  was  left  in  charge  at  Fort  Mortimer, 
was  confident  of  his  ability  to  cope  with  the  American  Fur 


372      AGENT    CUTTING    AND    THE    ASSINIBOINE    CHIEF. 

Company;  but  a  little  incident  that  happened  soon  after- 
ward went  far  to  dispel  that  illusion.  As  was  the  custom 
when  a  new  opposition  came  up  the  river,  the  Indians  paid 
it  some  attention.  A  powerful  Assiniboine  chief  called  on 
Mr.  Cutting,  from  whom  he  received  a  brilliant  uniform  as 
a  present.  From  his  general  demeanor  Cutting  felt  sure 
that  he  had  secured  the  custom  of  the  chief  and  his  band. 
When  the  chief  left  he  went  straight  to  Fort  Union,  sat 
down  in  the  private  room  of  Mr.  Culbertson,  who  was  then 
in  charge,  and  after  a  few  moments'  silence  said :  "  I  sup- 
pose you  think  I  have  left  our  big  house  [Fort  Union]. 
No ;  I  am  not  a  child.  I  went  below  to  see  the  chief,  who 
treated  me  well.  I  did  not  ask  him  for  anything.  I  did  not 
refuse  his  presents.  But  these  can  not  make  me  abandon 
this  house,  where  are  buried  the  remains  of  our  fathers, 
whose  tracks  are  yet  fresh  in  all  the  paths  leading  to  this 
house.  No,  I  will  not  abandon  this  house! "  Cutting  was 
completely  undone  when  he  heard  this  news,  and  concluded 
that  the  American  Fur  Company  was  not,  after  all,  in  so  bad 
a  way  as  his  associate  Ebbetts  had  represented. 

The  Union  Fur  Company  continued  to  do  a  losing  busi- 
ness for  about  three  years,  their  affairs  constantly  going 
from  bad  to  worse.  Their  better  class  of  employes,  feeling 
that  they  were  on  a  sinking  ship,  withdrew  from  their 
employ,  leaving  them  only  the  most  abandoned  and  reckless 
characters  in  the  country.  Finally,  in  the  spring  of  1845, 
they  sold  out  to  the  American  Fur  Company,  thus  closing 
the  career  of  the  last  of  the  opposition  companies  which  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  notice. '^ 

In  the  summer  of  1833,  the  year  following  the  establish- 
ment of  Fort  McKenzie,  an  important  incident  occurred  at 
that  post.     Notwithstanding  the  inviolable  peace  which  the 

" "  The  Union  Fur  Company  has  sold  their  entire  stock  in  the  country 
to  P.  Chouteau,  Jr.,  &  Company.  I  am  sorry  to  inform  you  that  they 
leave  in  the  country  upwards  of  fifty  men  —  a  mongrel  set  of  half- 
breeds  and  white  men,  the  greater  part  notorious  for  their  misconduct 
here  as  well  as  in  the  civilized  world."  Drips  to  Thomas  H.  Harvey, 
Superintendent  Indian  Affairs.     Dated  Fort   Pierre,  May  18,   1845. 


■1 


AFFAIRS    AT    FORT    M  KENZIE.  373 

Assiniboines  had  promised  McKenzie  should  thenceforth 
subsist  between  them  and  the  Blackfeet,  those  Indians  from 
some  cause  or  other  grew  tired  of  the  compact  and  proceeded 
to  treat  it  as  of  no  effect.  On  the  morning  of  August  28th, 
1833,  they  made  a  bold  attack  upon  a  party  of  Blackfeet 
who  were  encamped  around  the  fort.  Quite  a  number  of 
Indians  were  killed  at  the  first  onslaught,  but  the  Blackfeet 
were  quickly  admitted  into  the  fort  from  which  a  counter 
attack  was  vigorously  returned.  The  battle  continued  in  a 
desultory  fashion  all  day  and  ended  in  the  discomfiture  of 
the  Assiniboines.  Prince  Maximilian  was  in  the  post  at  the 
time,  and  has  left  a  vivid  picture  from  his  pen,  as  his  artist, 
Bodmer,  did  from  his  pencil,  of  this  exciting  affair.^ 

No  other  event  of  unusual  interest  transpired  at  this 
remote  outpost  until  1842.  F.  A.  Chardon,  an  able  but 
unscrupulous  man,  and  something  of  a  desperate  character 
when  his  evil  nature  was  once  aroused,  was  in  charge.  It 
happened  that  in  the  winter  of  1842-3  a  negro  belonging  to 
Chardon,  to  whom  he  was  greatly  attached,  was  killed  by  the 
Blood  Indians.  Chardon  vowed  vengeance  and  found  a 
ready  coadjutor  in  Alexander  Harvey,  one  of  the  most 
abandoned  desperadoes  known  to  the  fur  trade.  A  general 
massacre  was  planned  but  it  only  partially  succeeded.® 
Enough  was  done,  however,  to  embitter  the  Indians  so  that 
the  further  usefulness  of  Fort  McKenzie  was  at  an  end. 
Chardon  accordingly  abandoned  the  post  in  the  summer  of 
1843  ^"d  built  another  farther  down,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Judith,  and  called  it  Fort  Chardon.  The  Indians  promptly 
burned  the  old  post.  Strange  to  say  the  name  of  the  old 
post  lapsed  entirely  so  far  as  popular  usage  was  concerned, 
and  it  came  to  be  known  only  as  Fort  Brule  and  its  site  as 
Brule  Bottom. 

The  year  1843,  with  which  our  present  studies  terminate, 
found  the  American  Fur  Company  occupying  all  the  ground 
that  it  had  ever  won,  but  still  having  to  fight,  as  it  always  had 

'See    Part    IV.,    Chapter    IV. 

*  See  notice  of  Harvey,  Part  IV.,  Chapter  VII. 


374  STATE    OF    THE    TRADE. 

done,  for  its  existence.  Just  at  this  time  the  prospects  of 
the  Upper  Missouri  Outfit  were  particularly  gloomy.  Fox, 
Livingston  and  Company  were  at  the  best  of  their  career  and 
were  causing  the  company  no  little  anxiety.  Bridger  had 
made  almost  a  total  failure  of  his  latest  mountain  expeditions 
and  had  practically  announced  the  death  knell  of  the  moun- 
tain trade  by  building  a  post  in  the  heart  of  the  old  fur 
country  for  the  convenience  of  emigrants.  The  company 
was  still  to  survive  for  a  score  of  years,  but  it  required  no 
prophet  to  see  that  the  sun  of  its  prosperity,  so  far  as  the 
fur  trade  was  concerned,  was  on  the  decline. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  AMERICAN  FUR  COMPANY. 
METHODS  AND  MEN. 

Financial  Stability  of  the  American  Fur  Company  —  Conservative 
management  —  Business  arrangements  —  Opposition  companies  —  Meas- 
ures of  policy  —  Able  men  in  the  American  Fur  Company  —  Ramsay 
Crooks  —  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.  —  Kenneth  McKenzie  —  William  Laid- 
law  —  Alexander  Culbertson  —  David  D.  Mitchell  —  James  Archdale 
Hamilton  —  James  Kipp  —  Daniel  Lamont  —  The  Sarpy/  family  — 
Lucien  Fontenelle  —  William  Henry  Vanderburgh  —  Jacob  Halsey  — 
Joseph  A7  Sire  —  Charles  Larpenteur  —  Warren  Angus  Ferris. 

*irN  the  general  discussion  upon  the  business  methods  of 
"  the  fur  trade  much  has  already  been  said  that  applies  to 
the  American  Fur  Company.  Only  those  special  features 
which  distinguish  it  from  other  trading  concerns  need  there- 
fore be  noticed  here. 

The  chief  elements  of  strength  which  made  the  American 
Fur  Company  such  a  power  in  the  Indian  country  were  the 
great  wealth  and  business  sagacity  of  its  founder.  Its  for- 
midable financial  backing  gave  to  its  operations  a  degree  of 
force  and  stability  which  none  of  the  other  American  fur 
companies  possessed.  Reverses  which  would  have  ruined 
an  ordinary  concern  scarcely  caused  a  ripple  on  the  current 
of  its  affairs.  If  competing  traders  stood  in  the  way,  and 
could  not  be  crushed  by  opposition,  the  exhaustless  reservoir 
of  Mr.  Astor's  pocket-book  could  buy  them  out.  The 
onward  march  of  the  company  was  therefore  that  of  resist- 
less power  and  even  the  great  opposition  of  the  St.  Louis 
traders  was  finally  forced  to  give  way. 

The  operations  of  the  company,  moreover,  were  always 
conducted  with  caution  and  sound  judgment.     Its  career 


376  CONSERVATIVE    MANAGEMENT. 

was  marked  by  few  brilliant  strokes  of  policy,  but  rather  by 
a  conservative  and  continuous  advance  so  fortified  and 
supported  that  each  step  v^as  permanent  progress.  It  per- 
mitted other  and  more  adventurous  concerns  to  break  the 
ground  in  new  and  dangerous  territory  rather  than  run  the 
risk  of  invading  those  untried  fields.^  Thus  every  point  of 
its  territory  on  the  upper  river  had  previously  been  occupied 
by  the  Missouri  or  Columbia  Fur  Companies  or  by  General 
Ashley.  This  was  not  perhaps  much  to  the  credit  of  its 
courage,  but  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  its  business.  The 
American  Fur  Company  never  met  with  anything  like  the 
brilliant  success  of  General  Ashley,  but  if  its  particular 
gains  were  not  great,  they  were  many  and  continuous,  and 
the  aggregate  was  always  large. 

The  goods  for  the  trade  were  generally  imported  or  pur- 
chased in  New  York  under  the  immediate  direction  of  the 
home  office.  Those  going  to  the  Northern  Department  were 
sent  to  Lake  Erie  and  shipped  from  Black  Rock  to  posts  on 
the  lakes  and  the  upper  Mississippi.  Those  bound  for  the 
Western  Department  were  generally  sent  by  way  of  New 
Orleans,  particularly  after  the  advent  of  steamboats.  Ship- 
ments were  also  often  made  by  way  of  Pittsburg,  and  occa- 
sionally by  way  of  the  lakes. 

St.  Louis  was  the  headquarters  of  the  Western  Depart- 
ment, as  Michilimackinac  was  of  the  Northern.  It  was  the 
outfitting  point  for  the  entire  country  to  the  westward,  and 
for  the  posts  on  the  Mississippi  as  far  up  as  Prairie  du 
Chien.  The  lower  Missouri  posts  were  supplied  by  inde- 
pendent outfits,  but  the  entire  river  above  the  present  location 
of  Sioux  City  was  included  in  a  single  equipment,  called  the 
Upper  Missouri  Outfit. 

The  goods,  in  their  long  journey  from  Europe  to  the 
interior  of  this  continent,  passed  through  three  distinct 
agencies  before  their  final  destination  was  reached.     They 

^To  this  general  rule  the  enterprise  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  was 
a  notable  exception,  as  was  also  the  establishment  of  Fort  Piegan  among 
the  Blackfeet. 


A    ONE-SIDED    ARRANGEMENT.  377 

were  generally  furnished  by  Mr.  Astor  at  a  fixed  advance 
upon  cost  and  charges.  They  then  went  through  the  house 
at  St.  Louis,  where  the  various  outfits  for  each  year  were 
made  up.  Here  there  was  a  second  regular  advance.  To 
this  point  the  profits  were  fixed  and  certain,  and  the  chances 
of  loss  very  small.  It  was  not  until  the  traders  at  the  com- 
pany houses  in  the  interior  were  reached  that  the  struggle  of 
the  business  began.  The  trader's  profits  were  largely 
dependent  upon  his  own  efforts.  He  ran  the  risks  of  loss 
from  hostile  Indians,  competing  traders,  and  the  many  other 
difficulties  that  beset  his  business.  On  the  whole  the  trade 
arrangements  of  the  American  Fur  Company  were  grossly 
one-sided  and  unfair.  They  threw  the  risks  of  loss  upon 
those  who  had  the  burden  of  the  work  to  perform.  Thus 
the  heavy  damages  of  nearly  ten  thousand  dollars  which 
the  affair  of  Cabanne  and  Leclerc  cost  the  company,  were 
charged  to  the  "  U.  M.  O.,"  although  the  house  in  St.  Louis 
was  in  the  fullest  sense  a  party  to  the  transaction.  It  is  not 
a  pleasing  reflection  that  the  profits  of  this  extensive  business 
found  their  way  into  a  few  hands  while  those  who  bore  its 
hardships  and  dangers  beyond  the  frontiers  of  civilization 
and  the  comforts  and  luxuries  thereof,  generally  ended  their 
careers  in  comparative  poverty  if  not  in  actual  want.^ 

In  the  multitudinous  details  of  a  business  like  that  of  the 
American  Fur  Company,  covering  half  tlie  area  of  the 
United  States,  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  should  appear  in 
different  lights  from  different  points  of  view.  One  may 
search  in  vain  in  the  correspondence  of  Astor  or  Crooks  for 

^"Meek  was  evidently  very  poor.  He  had  scarcely  clothing  enough 
to  cover  his  body.  And  while  talking  with  us  the  frosty  winds  which 
sucked  up  the  valley  made  him  shiver  like  an  aspen  leaf.  He  reverted 
to  his  destitute  situation  and  complained  of  the  injustice  of  his  former 
employers ;  the  little  remuneration  he  had  received  for  the  toils  and  dan- 
gers he  had  endured  on  their  account,  etc. ;  a  complaint  which  I  had 
heard  from  every  trapper  whom  I  had  met  on  my  journey."  Travels  in 
the  Great  Western  Prairies,  T.  J.  Farnham,  1839,  p.  69.  This  is  a  fair 
sample  of  the  complaints  which  came  from  nearly  all  the  old  employes 
of  the  company. 


37^  ONE    CODE    FOR    THE    EAST,    ANOTHER    FOR    THE    WEST. 

any  evidence  of  irregular  methods.  The  conduct  of  affairs 
at  the  home  office,  however  vigorous  and  aggressive  it  might 
be,  was  always  strictly  within  the  law.  Very  different  was 
it  at  the  other  end  of  the  line,  where  the  business  came  in 
contact  with  the  lawless  element  of  the  wilderness.  Thus, 
while  McKenzie  was  making  preparations  to  establish  a  dis- 
tillery at  Fort  Union  whereby  he  would  be  able  to  evade  the 
Federal  statutes,  Crooks  was  writing  to  Chouteau  strongly 
deprecating  his  course,  and  urging  the  agents  of  the  com- 
pany to  stand  upon  higher  ground.  "  It  is  enough,"  he 
said,  "  that  our  laws  prohibit  the  introduction  of  ardent  spir- 
its into  the  Indian  country,  and  it  is  our  bounden  duty  to 
conform  honestly  thereto."  The  St.  Louis  house  had  a 
more  difficult  role  to  fill,  for  it  was  midway  between  New 
York  and  the  wilderness  —  between  the  law-abiding  man- 
agement of  the  company's  affairs  and  the  law-defying  agents 
at  the  distant  posts.  One  does  not  need  to  scan  very  closely 
the  correspondence  of  the  Western  Department  at  St.  Louis 
to  see  that  it  had  one  code  of  business  when  looking  toward 
the  east  and  quite  a  different  one  when  looking  in  the  other 
direction. 

Owang  to  the  great  power  of  the  American  Fur  Company 
it  was  opposed  by  all  other  traders.  It  had  no  allies.  An 
"  opposition  company  "  was  one  opposed  to  the  American 
Fur  Company.  Flowever  much  the  smaller  traders  might 
fight  among  themselves,  there  was  one  enemy  against  whom 
they  made  common  cause  —  one  flag  under  which  all  could 
rally.  The  opposition  to  the  company  was,  it  is  true,  more 
numerous  than  formidable,  and  considering  their  uniform 
experience  of  failure,  the  number  of  competitors  is  at  first 
thought  surprising.  A  great  part  of  the  opposition  to  the 
company  was  a  species  of  blackmail.  It  was  a  common 
thing  for  employes  who  had  been  trained  in  its  service  until 
they  had  acquired  some  knowledge  of  the  fur  trade,  to  quit 
their  employment  and  set  up  for  themselves.  Sometimes 
they  did  this  from  personal  spite,  because  they  had  a  griev- 
ance against  the  company,  and  at  others  because  they  actu- 


OPPOSITION    TRADERS.  379 

ally  felt  that  they  might  meet  with  some  success.  Occa- 
sionally the  more  experienced  would  enlist  eastern  capital 
in  their  enterprises  and  would  themselves  ascend  the  river 
as  agent  or  principal  in  the  business.  As  a  general  thing, 
however,  these  smaller  concerns,  like  minor  political  parties, 
had  no  real  expectation  of  accomplishing  anything  by  them- 
selves, but  hoped,  by  embarrassing  their  powerful  competi- 
tor, to  force  it  to  buy  them  out  or  to  make  profitable  con- 
cessions to  them.  To  this  end  they  would  ascend  the  river 
and  settle  down  near  some  important  outpost  of  the  com- 
pany and  ply  their  skill  to  the  utmost  to  debauch  the  Indians 
and  secure  their  trade.  Not  having  any  character  to  defend 
they  were  reckless  of  measures.  They  could  easily  smuggle 
through  the  small  quantities  of  liquor  they  wanted,  and  were 
often  better  ecjuipped  at  particular  points  with  this  decisive 
weapon  of  trade  than  were  their  opponents.  These  irre- 
sponsible traders  were  in  fact  an  unmitigated  nuisance  in  the 
Indian  trade.  They  w'ere  not  powerful  enough  to  stand  the 
least  chance  of  crippling  their  adversary,  any  more  than  sum- 
mer flies  can  cripple  the  horse  which  they  annoy,  but  they 
could  and  did  succeed  in  causing  it  infinite  embarrassment, 
and  its  whole  career  was  one  prolonged  effort  to  extermi- 
nate the  myriad  pests  that  were  always  swarming  about  it. 

Notwithstanding  the  discreditable  motives  which  lay 
behind  most  of  these  adventurers  the  sympathy  of  the  public 
was  always  with  them.  The  great  company  w^as  looked 
upon  as  an  oppressive  monopoly,  resolved  to  crush  whatever 
lay  in  its  way,  and  its  acts  w^ere  judged  by  a  stricter  standard 
than  were  those  of  its  less  powerful  rivals.  The  govern- 
ment inspectors  were  as  a  rule  more  severe  with  it,  perhaps 
from  sympathy  with  the  smaller  traders,  but  probably 
because  they  could  more  easily  detect  its  shortcomings. 

The  attitude  of  the  company  toward  these  competitors 
was  always  severe  and  merciless,  for,  knowing  their  charac- 
ter and  motives,  it  held  them  in  the  utmost  contempt.  As 
a  general  thing  it  fought  them  with  their  own  methods  until 
it  had  won  all  the  trade  away  from  them,  when  they  would 


380  PERSONIFICATION    OF    MONOPOLY. 

find  themselves  stranded  and  helpless  and  would  sue  for 
mercy.  Others  or  the  more  respectable  class  it  would  buy 
out,  receiving  them  again  into  the  service.  With  still  others 
who  were  really  powerful  rivals,  like  the  Columbia  Fur  Com- 
pany, it  formed  coalitions  on  advantageous  terms  to  the 
company  absorbed.  In  one  way  or  another  it  held  the  field 
against  all  competitors  and  only  retired  at  last  when  its 
work  was  done  and  a  new  order  of  things  had  come  over  the 
field  of  its  extensive  operations.^ 

For  the  rest,  the  company's  afifairs  were  conducted  on  the 
same  principles  which  control  in  the  business  world  today. 
It  knew  perfectly  well  the  power  of  political  influence,  and 
no  railroad  corporation  of  modern  times  is  more  assiduous 
in  the  lobby  than  was  the  American  Fur  Company  in  the 
Departments  at  Washington.  More  than  once  it  escaped 
exclusion  from  the  Indian  country  where  a  more  obscure 
party  would  have  had  no  show  whatever.  The  company 
also  understood  to  perfection  the  value  of  favors  to  those 
who  were  in  a  position  to  help  or  injure  it.  Free  passes 
were  provided  on  its  steamboats ;  scientific  enterprises  were 
generously  promoted,  and  every  thing  was  done  that  would 
redound  to  its  praise  or  credit.  It  may  indeed  be  said  that 
the  history  of  the  company  upon  the  upper  Missouri  was 
uniformly  on  the  side  of  the  advancement  of  knowledge  and 
its  assistance  to  enterprises  of  this  character  was  of  perma- 
nent value.  But  to  the  average  individual  the  American 
Fur  Company  was  the  personification  of  monopoly,  deter- 
mined to  rule  or  ruin,  and  hence  it  was  thoroughly  hated 
even  by  those  who  respected  its  power. ^ 

'  It  was  with  reference  to  these  competing  traders  that  Chouteau  on 
one  occasion  issued  the  following  instructions  to  John  P.  Cabanne  at 
Council  Bluffs:  "Si  vous  ne  croycs  pouvoir  vous  debarasser  d'eux 
par  la  force  des  armes,  il  vaut.  micux  fairc  un  arrangement  en  leur 
donant  tcl  paste  que  vous  jugez  le  plus  convenahlc  a  nos  interets." 
And  the  faithful  lieutenant  returned  the  following  comfortable  assurance 
to  his  chief:  " Sois  sans  inquietude.  Ricn  ne  sera  neglige  pour  faire 
mordre  la  poussicre  a  notre  incapable  adversaire,  ct  tout  ce  qui  depen- 
dra  de  moi  sera  mis  en  usage  pour  y  parvenir." 

*The  following  testimonial  by  an  Indian  agent,  uttered  at  about  the 


AMERICAN    FUR    COMPANY    LEADERS.  381 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  observe  that  a  business  concern 
of  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  American  Fur 
Company  must  needs  have  had  many  men  of  high  abihty 
connected  with  it.  Astor,  the  founder  of  the  company, 
whose  biography  has  been  given  in  another  place,  stands  at 
the  front  rank  of  commercial  geniuses  of  this  or  any  other 
age.  The  Chouteaus  of  St.  Louis  were  considered  in  their 
day  among  the  ablest  business  men  of  the  country,  and  there 
is  no  other  name  so  intimately  connected  with  the  growth 
and  development  of  the  metropolis  of  the  Mississippi  valley. 
Ramsay  Crooks,  Robert  Stuart,  Kenneth  McKenzie,  Alex- 
ander Culbertson,  D.  D.  Mitchell,  and  many  others  were  men 
who  were  charged  with  high  responsibilities,  and  would 
today  stand  near  the  top  in  the  world  of  business. 

The  strongest  man,  next  to  Mr.  Astor  himself,  who  at  any 
time  stood  at  the  helm,  in  the  home  office  at  New  York,  was 
Ramsay  Crooks,  who  rose  to  the  presidency  of  the  com- 
pany. He  was  born  in  Greenock,  Scotland,  January  2nd, 
1787.  He  came  to  America  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  at 
once  entered  the  service  of  the  Montreal  fur  traders.  He 
went  to  Mackinaw  as  clerk  to  Robert  Dickson,  and  the  next 
year  pushed  his  way  on  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  entered  the 
trade  of  the  Missouri.  As  early  as  1807  he  became  associ- 
ated with  Robert  McLellan,  with  whom  he  continued  in  busi- 
ness until  the  two  entered  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  in  181 1. 
After  Crooks'  return  from  the  Pacific  in  181 3,  he  drops  out 
of  sight  for  the  next  few  years,  but  he  was  evidently  asso- 
ciated in  some  capacity  with  Mr.  Astor.  Li  18 17  he  appears 
as  agent  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  which  had  just 
bought  out, the  Southwest  Company.  During  this  period  he 
displayed  ihe  most  extraordinary  energy  in  his  work,  and 
for  many  years  made  the  long  and  arduous  annual  journey 

time  that  the  American  Fur  Company  was  permanently  retiring  from 
business,  shows  that  it  had  not  risen  in  popular  estimation :  "This  old 
American  Fur  Company  is  the  most  corrupt  institution  ever  tolerated  in 
our  country.  They  have  involved  the  government  in  their  speculations 
and  schemes ;  they  have  enslaved  the  Indians ;  kept  them  in  ignorance ; 
taken  from  them  year  after  year  their  pitiful  earnings,  etc." 


382  RAMSAY    CROOKS. 

to  Mackinaw  and  even  to  St.  Louis.  Crooks  was  the  vir- 
tual head  of  the  company's  business  during  the  twelve  years 
after  the  Western  Department  was  established  in  St.  Louis. 
When  Mr.  Astor  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  company  in 
1834,  Crooks  purchased  the  Northern  Department,  which 
then  took  the  company  name,  and  soon  after  became  its  pres- 
ident. Crooks  lived  to  the  age  of  seventy-two  and  died  in 
New  York  June  6,  1859.  He  became  related  through  mar- 
riage to  the  Chouteau  family,  having  married  Emily  Pratt, 
March  i,  1825. 

Crooks  was  the  letter  writer  of  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany; not  merely  because  his  correspondence  was  volumi- 
nous, but  because  in  character  and  quality  it  was  far  above 
that  of  the  average  trader.  It  was  strong  and  vigorous,  like 
the  nature  of  the  man  behind  it.  It  abounded  in  interesting 
matter,  of  great  value  historically,  and  his  letters  constitute 
our  best  fund  of  information  on  many  points  connected  with 
these  early  events.  Some  of  these  letters  are  unsurpassed  as 
examples  of  clear  and  incisive  writing. 

Crooks  was  always  open  and  above  board  in  his  dealings, 
yet  a  vigorous  and  relentless  enemy  when  he  took  up  a  con- 
test. He  opposed  clandestine,  quite  as  much  as  open,  viola- 
tions of  the  law.  In  all  his  career  connected  with  a  business 
where  the  temptation  to  use  lawless  methods  was  so  great, 
there  is  no  record  of  any  attempt  on  his  part  to  do  anything 
that  he  had  not  a  legal  right  to  do. 

Although  a  man  of  great  energy  and  longevity  he  was  not» 
a  strong  man  physically.  The  record  of  his  work  shows 
that  he  was  in  ill  health  a  great  deal  of  the  time,  and  it  is 
a  matter  of  surprise  that  so  much  of  an  invalid  could  accom- 
plish such  a  quantity  of  work. 

The  principal  character  in  the  Western  Department  of  the 
American  Fur  Company  was  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  of  St. 
Louis,  grandson  of  Auguste  Chouteau,  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  city,  and  himself  the  most  illustrious  scion  of  the  dis- 
tinguished Chouteau  family.  He  was  born  in  St.  Louis, 
January  ig,   1789,  and  by  his  own  people  was  known  as 


PIERRE    CHOUTEAU,    JR.  383 

Pierre  Cadet  Chouteau.  He  was  bred  in  the  atmosphere  of 
the  fur  trade,  and  early  showed  a  marked  aptitude  for  busi- 
ness, becoming  clerk  to  his  father  before  he  had  reached  the 
age  of  sixteen.  In  1806  he  accompanied  Julien  Du  Buque 
to  the  lead  mines  of  the  upper  Mississippi,  and  in  i8og  went 
with  his  father  up  the  Missouri  in  the  service  of  the  Missouri 
Fur  Company.  Soon  after  reaching  his  majority  he  went 
into  business  on  his  own  account,  and  in  181 3  formed  a  part- 
nership with  B.  Berthold,  which  continued  until  1831.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Bernard  Pratte  and  Company, 
which  secured  the  agency  of  the  Western  Department  of  the 
American  Fur  Company ;  and  a  leading  member  of  the  firm 
of  Pratte,  Chouteau  and  Company,  which  purchased  the 
Western  Department  in  1834.  Four  years  later  the  firm 
name  was  changed  to  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  and  Company, 
which  remained  the  name  for  more  than  twenty  years. 

As  his  business  expanded,  Chouteau  was  drawn  into  other 
fields,  and  for  many  years  resided  mainly  in  New  York, 
where  he  was  interested  in  railroads  and  other  industrial 
enterprises.  He  was  at  this  time  one  of  the  leading  finan- 
ciers in  that  home  of  financial  men. 

Chouteau  died  in  St.  Louis,  October  6,  1865. 

One  has  only  to  read  the  correspondence  of  Pierre  Chou- 
teau, Jr.,  to  understand  that  he  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary business  ability.  A  born  merchant,  he  possessed  to  a 
marked  degree  the  rare  quality  of  turning  to  pecuniary  profit 
whatever  he  touched.  These  natural  abilities  he  supple- 
mented by  the  most  industrious  and  persevering  methods. 
In  a  business  which  stretched  over  a  million  square  miles  he 
carried  out  the  details  with  the  greatest  exactness  and  under- 
stood the  needs  of  the  most  remote  posts  as  if  he  had  been 
there.  He  personally  made  two  extensive  steamboat  trips 
to  the  upper  river  and  thus  further  familiarized  himself  with 
the  wants  of  the  trade.  His  solicitude  extended  to  the 
minutest  particulars.  It  is  said  that  whenever  the  company's 
annual  boat  was  about  to  leave  port  for  the  upper  river  he 
always  visited  the  Captain  on  the  boat,  went  over  everything 


384  THE    CHOUTEAU    PAPERS. 

in  detail,  cautioned  him  about  trusting  to  the  Indians,  and 
enjoined  him  under  no  circumstances  to  take  unnecessary 
risks. 

Chouteau,  Hke  every  successful  man,  adapted  his  methods 
to  conditions  as  he  found  them.  He  made  no  attempt  to 
introduce  a  higher  standard  of  business  morality  in  the  trade 
than  it  was  accustomed  to.  He  stood  solidly  behind  his 
agents  on  the  upper  river  in  the  questionable  measures  which 
the  exigencies  of  competition  frequently  obliged  them  to 
resort  to.  In  short  his  code  of  business  morals  was  suffi- 
ciently elastic  to  fit  the  situation  with  which  he  had  to  deal. 

Strict  and  severe  in  the  discipline  of  his  business,  he  was 
nevertheless  generous  and  fair  to  all  who  served  him  well. 
His  most  trusted  steamboat  masters  he  would  permit,  with- 
out loss  of  salary,  to  take  service  with  other  boats  after  their 
return  from  the  annual  trip  until  the  company  again  required 
their  services :  but  let  one  of  them  have  the  temerity  to  set 
up  in  trade  for  himself  where  the  company  was  doing  busi- 
ness and  the  whole  enginery  of  that  leviathan  concern  would 
be  used  to  crush  him. 

Chouteau  was  liberal  toward  scientific  expeditions  seeking 
to  go  up  the  country,  and  he  contributed  in  no  small  degree 
to  their  success.  His  house  was  always  open  to  people  of 
this  class.  He  took  a  deep  personal  interest  in  their 
researches,  and  himself  gathered  an  extensive  collection 
of  Indian  curios. 

In  the  course  of  his  long  business  career  an  immense  mass 
of  correspondence  had  accumulated,  and  although  this  was 
long  before  the  era  of  typewriters,  and  to  some  extent  before 
that  of  the  common  letter  press,  copies  of  everything  were 
laboriously  preserved  even  where  they  had  to  be  transcribed 
by  hand.  All  the  letters  received  were  carefully  briefed  and 
bound  together  in  neat  packages,  in  which  form  they  have 
come  down  to  the  present  time,  and  constitute  our  most  valu- 
able original  data  upon  the  history  of  the  American  fur 
trade. 

King  of  the  "  U.  M.  O."  in  its  palmy  days  was  Kenneth 


KENNETH    m'kENZIE.  385 

McKenzie,  the  ablest  trader  that  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany ever  possessed.  He  was  born  of  distinguished  parent- 
age in  Rosshire,  Inverness,  Scotland,  in  1801.  He  was  a 
relative  of  Alexander  Mackenzie,  who  made  the  first  journey 
across  the  continent  ever  made  by  white  men  north  of  the 
Spanish  possessions.  Kenneth  came  to  America  early  in 
life  and  entered  the  service  of  the  British  Fur  Companies. 
Almost  nothing  is  known  of  him  during  this  period,  but  it  is 
probable  that  he  lost  his  position  as  did  so  many  others  when 
the  two  British  companies  consolidated  in  1821.  He  joined 
Joseph  Renville  in  forming  the  Columbia  Fur  Company,  of 
which  he  was  President  at  the  time  of  its  union  with  the 
American  Fur  Company  in  1827.  McKenzie  was  placed  in 
control  of  the  American  Fur  Company's  interests  upon  the 
upper  Missouri  and  with  Laidlaw  and  Lamont  formed  the 
sub-department  called  the  Upper  Missouri  Outfit.  To  Mc- 
Kenzie fell  the  responsible  task  of  carrying  the  trade  into 
those  hostile  regions  from  wdiich  the  traders  had  always 
hitherto  been  driven.  He  was  very  ambitious  and  entered 
this  new  field  wath  great  enthusiasm  and  untiring  energy. 
Within  four  years  he  had  occupied  the  entire  theatre  of 
trade  with  posts  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  the  Big- 
horn, and  the  Marias.  The  noted  post  of  Fort  Union  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  the  best  built  and  the  most 
commodiously-equipped  post  west  of  the  Mississippi,  was 
McKenzie's  creation.  He  was  successful  in  his  work,  but 
allowed  his  zeal  to  lead  him  into  a  faux  pas  which  ended  his 
usefulness  in  the  upper  country.  This  was  the  erection  of  a 
distillery  at  Fort  Union  for  the  purpose  of  evading  the  laws 
of  the  United  States.  The  detection  of  this  subterfuge 
brought  wide-spread  odium  upon  the  company,  seriously 
threatened  its  charter,  and  forced  McKenzie  to  retire  for  a 
time  from  the  country.  He  visited  Europe,  and  after  his 
return  went  again  to  Fort  Union,  but  did  not  long  remain 
there.  He  closed  up  his  affairs  with  the  American  Fur 
Company  w^ith  about  fifty  thousand  dollars  to  his  credit. 
He  then  established  himself  in  the  wholesale  liquor  trade, 


386  KING    OF    THE    UPPER    MISSOURI. 

but  was  not  successful,  and  with  his  habits  of  lavish  hospi- 
tality soon  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  fortune.  He  died 
in  St.  Louis  April  26,  1861. 

McKenzie  was  eminently  fitted  for  the  particular  calling 
which  fortune  assigned  him.  Of  distinguished  birth,  he 
always  carried  himself  as  one  born  to  command.  His  disci- 
pline was  severe,  and  he  had  little  regard  for  human  life 
when  it  stood  in  his  way.  He  once  offered  to  surrender  to 
the  merciless  savages  a  man  who  had  killed  one  of  their 
number.  At  another  time,  when  news  came  of  an  Indian 
attack  upon  a  party  of  hunters,  he  was  heard  to  inquire  if  the 
horses  had  been  saved.  On  hearing  that  they  had  all  been 
lost  and  that  only  the  men  had  escaped,  he  exclaimed : 
"  D — n  the  men !  If  the  horses  had  been  saved  it  would 
have  amounted  to  something!  "  No  one  about  Fort  Union 
ever  doubted  his  ability ;  no  one  but  dreaded  his  authority. 
He  affected  a  kind  of  state  ^  in  his  business,  generally  wear- 
ing a  uniform,  and  permitting  only  a  select  few  at  his  table. 
Toward  his  guests  he  was  lavishly  hospitable,  and  in  him 
as  an  entertainer  the  best  traditions  of  British  Fur  Com- 
panies found  expression.  He  was  fond  of  manly  sports, 
and  his  particular  delight  was  to  engage  in  buffalo  hunts 
with  the  fine  horses  which  he  kept  especially  trained  for  the 
purpose.  He  took  much  interest  in  the  country  around  him, 
and  made  an  extensive  collection  of  specimens  and  curios 
illustrating  its  remarkable  features. 

From  his  headquarters  at  Fort  Union,  McKenzie  ruled 
over  an  extent  of  country  greater  than  that  of  many  a  notable 
empire  in  history.  His  outposts  were  hundreds  of  miles 
away.  His  parties  of  trappers  roamed  far  and  wide  through 
the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains.  From  every  direction 
tribes  of  roving  Indians  came  to  his  post  to  trade.     Alto- 

'  "Imagine  my  surprise,  on  entering  Mr.  Campbell's  room,  to  find  my- 
self in  the  presence  of  Mr.  McKenzie,  who  was  at  that  time  considered 
the  king  of  the  Missouri  •  and,  from  the  style  in  which  he  was  dressed, 
I  really  thought  he  was  a  king."  Larpenteur's  first  acquaintance  with 
McKenzie.     Forty  Years  a  Fur  Trader,  p.  65. 


WILLIAM    LAIDLAW.  387 

gether  it  was  a  remarkable  business  that  he  followed,  and 
one  which  only  a  man  of  great  ability  could  have  handled 
so  successfully.  He  was  universally  feared  and  respected 
even  by  the  turbulent  spirits  of  the  mountains,  while  his 
immediate  subordinates  in  charge  of  the  various  posts  con- 
sidered him  not  merely  their  superior  but  a  friend.  His 
correspondence  with  them  shows  diplomatic  skill  of  no  mean 
order,  and  he  could  with  equal  facility  praise  well  doing, 
administer  mild  censure  in  a  way  to  rob  it  of  all  bitterness, 
or  bear  down  with  merciless  weight  upon  him  who  deserved 
it. 

McKenzie  had  a  fair  education  and  the  extensive  corre- 
spondence which  has  come  down  to  us  is  extremely  well 
written.  It  discloses  an  active  mind  which  looked  beyond 
the  mere  details  of  trade  and  took  an  intelligent  interest  in 
the  affairs  of  the  world. 

McKenzie  married  late  in  life  and  left  two  children, 
daughters,  who  are  still  (1900)  living.  He  also  had  a  son 
by  an  Indian  wife.  The  name  of  this  son  was  Owen  Mc- 
Kenzie. He  was  given  a  good  education  and  became  a  man 
of  considerable  prominence  in  the  upper  Missouri  trade. 
He  was  killed  by  Malcolm  Clark  in  1863. 

William  Laidlaw,  next  to  Kenneth  McKenzie,  was  the 
ablest  of  the  traders  who  came  to  the  Missouri  with  the 
Columbia  Fur  Company.  To  him  was  assigned  Fort 
Tecumseh,  which  later  became  Fort  Pierre,  the  largest  and 
most  important  post  except  Fort  Union.  He  was  of  Scotch 
descent,  trained  in  the  service  of  the  British  Fur  Companies, 
and  thoroughly  versed  in  the  business  of  the  fur  trade.  He 
was  a  severe  master,  and  his  tyrannical  temper  often  made 
him  unpopular.  A  great  lover  of  hunting  he  spent  much 
time  in  the  buffalo  chase.  Like  McKenzie  he  was  a  good 
letter  writer  and  evidently  was  considered  a  valuable  man. 
He  was  well  ofif  when  he  retired  from  the  business.  He 
built  a  house  near  Liberty,  Missouri,  where  he  kept  open 
door  to  his  friends  as  long  as  his  money  lasted.  He  died  a 
poor  man. 


388  ALEXANDER    CULBERTSON. 

Alexander  Culbertson,  who  ranked  with  McKenzie 
and  Laidlaw  in  the  Missouri  fur  trade,  had  not  risen  to 
prominence  until  about  the  close  of  the  period  which  this 
sketch  embraces.  He  was  of  Scotch-Irish  parentage  and 
was  born  in  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  May,  1809. 
He  lived  with  his  parents  on  their  farm  until  1826  when  he 
accompanied  his  uncle,  John  Culbertson,  to  Florida,  and 
was  there  during  the  Indian  War.  He  entered  the  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company  service  in  1829.  He  rose  steadily  and 
became  the  company's  most  important  man  when  McKenzie 
and  Laidlaw  retired.  For  a  long  while  he  was  at  the  head  of 
Fort  Union  and  for  a  time  also  of  Fort  John  on  the  Laramie. 
He  built  Fort  Alexander  on  the  Yellowstone  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Bighorn. 

Culbertson  was  a  popular  trader  and  lacked  the  arbitrary 
manner  characteristic  of  McKenzie  and  Laidlaw.  He  was 
about  six  feet  high,  of  strong  presence,  a  keen  eye  and  a 
frank  and  open  countenance.  He  married  a  woman  of  the 
Blackfoot  nation  who  became  well  known  in  the  history  of 
the  upper  Missouri.  She  died  only  a  few  years  ago.  Their 
children  were  all  well  educated  and  became  responsible  bus- 
iness men  and  women.  Culbertson  died  August  ^j,  1879,  at 
Orleans,  Missouri.  He  was  well  off  financially  when  he 
retired  from  the  fur  trade. 

David  D.  Mitchell  (born  in  Louisa  County,  Va.,  July 
31,  1806;  died  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  May  31,  1861,)  had  a  long 
and  honorable  career  in  the  fur  trade,  first  as  a  clerk  and 
then  as  a  partner  in  the  Upper  Missouri  Outfit.  He  was  the 
builder  of  Fort  McKenzie  in  1832.  He  became  United 
States  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  Central  Division, 
with  headquarters  at  St.  Louis,  September  20,  1841,  and 
held  the  position  at  intervals  until  1852.  He  entered  the 
volunteer  service  during  the  war  with  Mexico  and  was 
Lieutenant-Colonel  of  a  Missouri  regiment  raised  by  Sterl- 
ing Price.  He  served  with  Col.  Doniphan  during  the  war, 
and  commanded  the  detachment  that  captured  Chihuahua. 

HoNORE  Picotte  came  to  the  Missouri  with  the  Columbia 


JAMES    ARCHDALE    HAMILTON.  389 

Fur  Company,  but  after  its  union  with  the  American  Fur 
Company  he  joined  with  others  in  forming  the  French  Fur 
Company,  which  in  turn  sold  out  to  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany in  1830.  Picotte  then  entered  the  service  of  the  Upper 
Missouri  Outfit  where  he  remained  for  some  twenty  years. 
He  became  a  partner  and  finally  rose  to  an  influential  stand- 
ing in  the  company's  affairs.  His  name  constantly  appears 
in  the  correspondence  of  the  times,  but  his  history,  except 
in  the  immediate  connection  of  the  fur  trade,  is  obscure. 

James  Archdale  Hamilton,  who  served  for  a  long  time 
at  Fort  Union,  and  had  charge  of  that  post  during  McKen- 
zie's  absence  from  July  26,  1834,  to  November  17,  1835, 
was  an  able  man  over  whose  personality  an  air  of  mystery 
hung  which  time  has  not  cleared  up.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  an  English  nobleman  by  the  name  of  Archibald  Palm- 
er ^  who  through  some  difficulty  had  been  obliged  to  leave 
his  native  land.  He  came  to  America  under  an  assumed 
name  and  in  some  way  or  other  became  acquainted  with 
Kenneth  McKenzie  who  took  him  to  Fort  Union  as  book- 
keeper. He  was  well  educated  and  proved  himself  very  use- 
ful, as  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  he  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  post  during  the  absence  of  McKenzie.  His 
correspondence  during  this  time  shows  him  to  have  been 
thoroughly  conversant  with  the  duties  of  the  post.  His 
name  is  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  literature  and  corre- 
spondence of  the  period.  In  the  midst  of  the  rough  life  of 
the  wilderness  he  held  himself  aloof  from  its  vices,  was  reti- 
cent in  his  manner,  extremely  punctilious  in  his  dress  which 
he  obtained  from  London,  and  always  hated  the  Indians. 
He  was  hospitable  and  companionable  in  spite  of  his  eccen- 
tric and  exclusive  ways.  He  is  said  to  have  died  at  St. 
Louis  in  the  service  of  the  American  Fur  Company. 

James  Kipp  was  a  well-known  character  in  the  early  fur 
trade  and  came  to  the  Missouri  with  the  Columbia  Fur  Com- 
pany in  1822.  He  was  in  a  sense  the  founder  of  Fort  Clark 
in  that  he  established  a  post  in  that  vicinity  from  which  Fort 

•Larpenteur,  in  Forty  Years  a  Fur  Trader,  p.  84. 


390  THE    SARPY    FAMILY. 

Clark  evolved  in  the  course  of  a  few  years.  In  1831  Kipp 
went  to  the  Marias  and  built  Fort  Piegan,  the  first  post  in 
the  Blackfoot  territory.  In  1833-34  he  was  in  charge  of 
Fort  Clark.  Very  little  is  known  of  his  life  except  that  he 
had  a  long  and  varied  career  in  the  Missouri  fur  trade. 

Daniel  Lamont  was  one  of  the  three  partners  of  the  "  U. 
M.  O."  and  one  of  the  original  Columbia  Fur  Company  men. 
He  had  a  long  career  in  the  fur  trade,  but  very  little  is  known 
of  his  life.  He  is  supposed  to  belong  to  the  Scottish  family 
of  Lamont  who  originated  in  Argyleshire,  Scotland,  and 
whose  clan  history  is  known  back  to  the  year  1200.  Daniel 
was  the  most  common  name  in  the  family.  One  of  the  La- 
monts,  also  named  Daniel,  settled  in  New  York  State  in 
18 18.  He  was  grandfather  of  the  Hon.  Daniel  S.  Lamont, 
Secretary  of  War  under  President  Cleveland.  Another 
branch  of  the  family  migrated  to  Canada  at  an  early  date, 
and  it  is  supposed  that  the  Missouri  trader  belonged  to  this 
branch. 

The  Sarpy  family  was  long  connected  with  the  St.  Louis 
fur  trade.  John  B.  was  born  January  12,  1798,  and  died 
April  I,  1857.  His  father,  Gregoire  Berald  Sarpy,  is  said 
to  have  been  the  first  man  to  attempt  the  navigation  of  the 
Missouri  with  keelboats.  Sarpy  commenced  his  career  as  a 
clerk  to  some  of  the  St.  Louis  traders  and  rose  to  a  partner- 
ship in  the  American  Fur  Company,  in  whose  affairs  he  bore 
a  part  second  only  to  that  of  Chouteau.  Two  posts  were 
named  after  him — John,  on  the  Laramie,  and  Sarpy,  on  the 
Yellowstone. 

Thomas  L.  Sarpy,  a  brother  of  John  B.,  was  a  clerk  in  the 
service  of  the  American  Fur  Company  when  he  met  a  tragic 
death,  January  19,  1832,  at  the  post  of  the  Ogalallah  Indians. 
On  the  evening  of  that  day  after  a  busy  day's  work  at  trad- 
ing, he  was  putting  away  the  robes  which  had  been  taken  in. 
An  assistant  was  handing  them  over  a  counter  on  which  a 
lighted  candle  sat.  A  spark  from  the  candle,  it  is  supposed, 
was  blown  by  the  gusts  caused  in  handling  the  robes,  into  a 
fifty-pound  keg  of  powder  which  sat  uncovered  just  behind 


LUCIEN    FONTENELLE.  39I 

the  counter.  In  the  explosion  that  followed,  the  building 
was  completely  demolished  and  Sarpy  was  instantly  killed, 
his  body  being  mutilated  beyond  all  recognition.  The  other 
two  men  in  the  room  were  not  seriously  injured  and  the 
property  was  nearly  all  recovered. 

Peter  A.  Sarpy  was  a  clerk  of  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany for  several  years  in  charge  of  the  post  near  Bellevue. 

LuciEN  FoNTENELLE  was  One  of  the  best  examples  of  the 
Rocky  mountain  "  partisan,"  the  leader  of  a  "  brigade."  or 
itinerant  party  of  hunters  and  trappers.  There  was,  more- 
over, an  element  of  romance  in  his  life  which  has  no  parallel 
in  the  history  of  the  fur  trade.  It  is  said  that  he  was  of 
royal  lineage.  His  father  and  mother,  Frangois  and  Mar- 
eonise,  came  from  Marseilles,  France,  to  New  Orleans,  where 
Lucien  and  a  sister,  Amelia,  were  born,  about  1807.  The 
parents,  some  years  afterwards,  lost  their  lives  in  a  flood 
caused  by  a  hurricane,  but  the  children,  being  away  at  school, 
escaped.  At  about  the  age  of  fifteen  Lucien  engaged  as 
clerk  in  a  banking  house,  but,  becoming  incensed  at  an  act  of 
harsh  treatment  by  his  aunt  with  whom  he  lived,  he  ran 
away  and  was  not  seen  again  for  twenty  years.  In  the 
meanwhile  he  went  to  St.  Louis,  engaged  in  the  fur  trade, 
and  at  length  became  a  leader  of  the  mountain  expeditions 
of  the  American  Fur  Company.  At  this  time  he  was  a 
partner  of  Andrew  Drips,  with  whom  he  built  a  post  at 
Bellevue,  a  few  miles  below  the  present  city  of  Omaha.  In 
1835  Fontenelle  went  into  partnership  with  Fitzpatrick, 
Sublette  and  Bridger,  and  it  is  said  that  in  the  following 
year  he  committed  suicide  at  Fort  Laramie. 

After  Fontenelle's  sister  Amelia  had  grown  up  she 
married  wealth  and  position  and  led  a  life  of  high  social  dis- 
tinction in  New  Orleans.  Her  brother,  whom  she  supposed 
dead,  was  only  a  memory.  One  day  there  called  at  her 
house  a  man  of  rough  appearance,  dark,  browned  and  swar- 
thy with  years  of  wilderness  life,  in  whose  face  there  was 
not  now  left  a  trace  of  its  former  lineaments.  His  sister 
refused  to  receive  him.     His  old  nurse  who  still  lived  was 


392  ANDREW    DRIPS. 

called  in  and  identified  him  by  a  flesh  mark  on  his  foot. 
But  the  aristocratic  sister  did  not  take  kindly  to  her  unpol- 
ished, long-lost  brother  and  he  soon  went  back  to  Bellevue. 

Fontenelle  was  married  by  Father  De  Smet  to  an  Omaha 
woman.  He  had  four  children  who  lived  to  adult  years 
and  some  of  them  achieved  prominence  in  the  history  of  the 
state  of  Nebraska. 

Andrew  Drips  was  another  of  the  famous  trio  of  moun- 
taineers —  Fontenelle,  Drips,  and  Vanderburgh  —  and,  al- 
though older  than  either  of  his  associates,  survived  them 
both  many  years.  Comparatively  little  is  known  of  his  bi- 
ography. He  was  born  in  Westmoreland  County,  Pa.,  in 
1789,  and  died  in  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  September  i,  i860. 
Our  first  notice  of  him  is  in  1820  when  he  was  associated 
with  a  fur  trader  by  the  name  of  Perkins.  He  was  later  a 
member  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company  with  Pilcher.  Soon 
after  the  American  Fur  Company  entered  the  mountain 
trade,  Drips  became  associated  with  Vanderburgh  in  charge 
of  the  mountain  expeditions.  He  continued  in  this  business 
for  many  years.  In  1842  he  was  appointed  by  President 
Tyler,  agent  for  the  tribes  of  the  upper  Missouri  and  held 
the  ofiice  for  four  years.  He  was  an  active  and  efficient 
agent.  After  the  expiration  of  this  duty  he  returned  to  the 
employment  of  the  American  Fur  Company. 

Drips'  principal  establishment,  while  in  the  mountain 
trade,  was  at  Bellevue  a  little  above  the  mouth  of  the  Platte 
and  here  he  married  a  woman  of  the  Oto  nation.  By  her 
he  had  several  children.  His  fourth  child,  a  daughter,  was 
born  in  Pierre's  Hole  on  the  day  of  the  famous  battle  there 
with  the  Grosventre  Indians,  July  18,  1832.  She  is  still 
living  '^  and  possesses  the  papers  of  her  distinguished  father. 
These  are  preserved  in  a  small  fur-covered  trunk  which 
Major  Drips  carried  with  him  on  his  expeditions.  They 
form  a  very  complete  history  of  the  events  on  the  Missouri 
during  the  period  when  Major  Drips  was  Indian  Agent. 

William  Henry  Vanderburgh,  clerk  and  partisan  of 

^Mrs.  William  Mulkey  of  Kansas  City.  Mo. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    VANDERBURGH.  393 

the  American  Fur  Company,  was  a  chivalrous  and  daring" 
leader.  He  was  born  in  Vincennes,  Ind.,  probably  about 
1798,  although  there  is  authority  for  fixing  the  date  at  1792. 
He  was  the  son  of  Henry  Vanderburgh  who  did  service  in 
the  Revolutionary  War  as  captain  in  the  Fifth  New  York 
Regiment,  and  was  subsequently  appointed  by  President 
Adams,  Judge  of  the  Indiana  territory.  Young  Vander- 
burgh was  educated  at  West  Point,  having  entered  that  insti- 
tution in  181 7.  He  could  not  long  have  remained  in  the 
government  service,  for  as  early  as  1823  he  had  achieved 
distinction  as  a  trader  and  was  associated  with  Joshua  Pil- 
cher  in  the  Missouri  Fur  Company,  He  was  present  at  the 
battle  with  the  Aricara  Indians  in  August  of  that  year  and 
held  the  nominal  rank  of  Captain  by  appointment  of  Colonel 
Leavenworth.  After  leaving  the  service  of  the  Missouri 
Fur  Company  he  entered  that  of  the  American  Fur  Company 
as  a  partisan  in  charge  of  the  mountain  expeditions.  The 
events  of  his  career  in  the  mountains,  so  far  as  known,  are 
related  in  the  regular  course  of  our  narrative,  while  the 
circumstances  of  his  tragic  death  form  the  subject  of  a 
separate  chapter.^ 

Jacob  Halsey,  clerk  and  partner  in  the  "  U.  M.  O.," 
served  mainly  at  Forts  Pierre  and  Union.  He  kept  the  jour- 
nal at  Pierre  and  on  one  occasion  varied  its  monotony  by 
introducing  an  interesting  dissertation  upon  the  Mandan 
and  Aricara  Indians.  He  was  a  valuable  man,  but  given  to 
hard  drink,  which  eventually  ruined  his  constitution.  In 
1837  he  had  the  smallpox  at  Fort  Union.  Late  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1842,  while  on  a  visit  at  Laidlaw's  home,  near  Lib- 
erty, Missouri,  he  became  intoxicated  and  in  this  condition 
rode  on  horseback  at  a  rapid  gait  along  a  road  through  some 
woods.  His  head  struck  one  of  the  trees  and  he  was  in- 
stantly killed. 

Joseph  A.  Sire  was  prominently  identified  with  the  trans- 

*  See  Part  IV..  Chapter  III.  The  data  for  this  sketch  were  furnished 
in  part  by  Mrs.  Francis  N.  Davis,  of  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  who  is  a  descend- 
ant of  the  Vanderburgh  family. 


394  CHARLES    LARPENTEUR. 

portation  business  of  the  American  Fur  Company  on  the  ear- 
ly steamboats.  For  many  years  he  was  master  of  the  an- 
nual boat,  and  one  of  the  most  interesting  documents  of 
those  times  which  still  survive,  is  a  log  book  in  which  he 
kept  a  record  of  his  trips.  It  was  kept  in  French  and  is  a 
precious  relic  of  a  phase  of  Western  life  now  gone  forever. 
Later  he  became  admitted  to  an  interest  in  the  company. 
Sire  was  born  at  La  Rochelle,  France,  February  19,  1799; 
came  to  America  at  the  age  of  fifteen;  established  himself 
in  Philadelphia  until  1836  when  he  went  to  St.  Louis  where 
he  remained  the  rest  of  his  life.     He  died  July  15,  1854. 

Charles  Larpenteur  was  an  engage  and  clerk  of  the 
American  Fur  Company  and  otherwise  employed  in  the 
country  along  the  Missouri  for  more  than  thirty  years.  His 
importance  in  the  present  connection  is  rather  that  of 
historian  than  trader.  In  the  latter  vocation  he  was  a 
failure,  but  he  followed  the  practice  of  keeping  a  daily  jour- 
nal which  he  later  worked  over  into  an  autobiography. 
This,  by  a  stroke  of  rare  good  fortune,  found  its  way  to 
the  world  through  the  editorship  of  Dr.  Elliott  Coues,  and 
with  the  editorial  ^  notes  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  the 
history  of  the  times. 

Larpenteur  was  born  in  Fontainebleau,  France,  in  1803; 
came  to  America  with  his  parents  in  1813  ;  went  to  St.  Louis 
and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  entered  the  fur  trade.  In  1833 
he  went  to  the  mountains  in  the  employ  of  Sublette  and 
Campbell.  In  the  following  summer  he  made  his  way  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  where  he  remained  at  Fort  Wil- 
liam until  Sublette  and  Campbell  sold  out  to  the  American 
Fur  Company,  when  he  entered  McKenzie's  service  at  Fort 
Union.  His  life  thereafter  was  of  the  most  diversified  char- 
acter and  he  was  engaged  in  a  variety  of  callings,  all  of 

'  Forty  Years  a  Fur  Trader  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  the  Personal  Nar- 
rative of  Charles  Larpenteur,  1833-72,  edited,  with  many  critical  notes, 
by  Elliott  Coues.  Maps,  Views,  and  Portraits.  In  Two  Volumes.  New 
York,  Francis  P.  Harper,   1898. 


lii 


WARREN    ANGUS    FERRIS.  395 

which  terminated  unsuccessfully.  He  died  a  disappointed 
man,  November  15,  1872. 

Warren  Angus  Ferris  is  another  of  the  American  Fur 
Company  men  whose  interest  to  us  arises  solely  from  his 
literary  work.  He  was  born  at  Glens  Falls,  N.  Y.,  Decem- 
ber 20,  1 810;  was  educated  as  a  civil  engineer;  in  1830  en- 
tered the  American  Fur  Company  service  as  clerk,  and 
remained  with  them  until  1835,  wandering  over  a  vast  sec- 
tion of  the  West ;  subsequently  he  moved  to  Texas  where  he 
lived  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  until  his  death,  which, 
took  place  at  Reinhardt,  near  Dallas,  February  8,  1873. 

Ferris'  career  in  the  Rocky  mountains  embraced  the  most 
interesting  period  of  the  fur  trade.  He  followed  the  practice 
of  keeping  a  journal  and  this  in  later  years  he  worked  up 
into  a  series  of  articles  entitled  Life  in  the  Rocky  Mountains 
which  were  published  in  the  Western  Literary  Messenger  of 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.  It  abounds  in  valuable  data  relating  to  the 
fur  trade  and  is  our  sole  authority  on  a  number  of  points.  It 
contains  for  example  the  first  written  description  by  an  eye- 
witness of  the  geysers  of  the  Yellowstone.  The  death  of 
Henry  Vanderburgh,  the  building  of  Fort  Bonneville,  the 
massacre  of  Etienne  Provost's  party  by  the  Snakes,  the  ori- 
gin of  several  important  geographical  names,  and  numerous 
other  historic  matters  find  their  best  authority  in  Ferris. 
His  style  is,  unfortunately,  laborious  to  a  degree,  and  either 
he  or  his  editor  made  a  woful  mix-up  of  the  matter  of  dates. 
While  the  work  is  now  of  great  historic  value  we  can  quite 
appreciate  the  causes  which  led  the  readers  of  the  Western 
Literary  Messenger  to  beseech  the  editor  to  give  them  no 
more  of  it.^*^ 

'"I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  O.  D.  Wheeler,  of  St.  Paul,  for  the  data  on 
Ferris'  life,  and  the  public  are  even  more  indebted  to  him  for  unearth- 
ing this  historic  treasure,  which  has  remained  buried  in  oblivion  from 
the  time  it  was  published  until  the  fall  of  1900,  when  Mr.  Wheeler  dis- 
covered it. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

CAPTAIN    BONNEVILLE. 

Bonneville  a  history-made  man  —  Biographical  sketch  —  Development 
of  Bonneville's  scheme  —  Organization  of  his  expedition  —  Progress 
to  Green  river  —  Fort  Bonneville  —  Winter  quarters  on  Salmon  river  — 
Dispositions  for  the  winter  —  Spring  hunt  on  Malade  river — Bonneville 
and  Wyeth  —  Green  river  rendezvous  of  1833  —  Meager  returns  — 
Plans  for  ensuing  year  —  Purpose  of  the  Walker  expedition  —  I.  R. 
Walker  —  Zenas  Leonard  —  Alfred  K.  Stephens  —  Leonard  with  Sin- 
clair's free  trappers  join  Milton  Sublette  —  Composition  of  Walker's 
party  —  The  expedition  starts  —  Massacre  of  the  Digger  Indians  —  Peril 
in  crossing  the  Sierras  —  Discovery  of  Yosemite  —  Reach  the  Pacific  — 
Party  sets  out  for  home  —  The  return  route  —  Second  massacre  of  Dig- 
ger Indians  —  Arrival  at  rendezvous  on  Bear  river  —  Review  of  the 
expedition  —  Captain  Bonneville  in  the  Crow  country  —  The  Captain 
abandons  the  Crow  country  —  Arrangements  for  the  winter  of  1833-4  — 
Captain  Bonneville  makes  an  expedition  to  the  Columbia  —  Reception 
at  Fort  Walla  Walla  —  Return  to  winter  quarters  of  his  party  —  Annual 
rendezvous  in  Bear  river  valley  —  Gloomy  prospects  —  Second  expedi- 
tion to  the  Columbia  —  Return  to  Snake  river  —  Winter  quarters  on 
Bear  river  —  Rendezvous  of  1835  on  Wind  river  —  Return  to  the  States 
—  Biographical  notes  —  Review  of  Captain  Bonneville's  enterprise  —  A 
business  failure  —  Scientific  accomplishment  nothing  —  Bonneville's 
maps  —  Bonneville  as  a  leader  of  an  expedition  —  Bonneville  takes  wag- 
ons to  Green  river  —  Bonneville's  breach  of  discipline  —  Bonneville  and 
Irving — Criticism  of  Bancroft. 

'^'HE  adventures  of  Captain  Bonneville  in  the  Rocky 
^^  mountains  from  1832  to  1835  have  attained  a  promi- 
nence in  the  history  of  the  West  to  which  they  are  not  enti- 
tled. They  and  their  hero  are  an  apt  illustration  of  Die- 
drich  Knickerbocker's  profound  idea  of  the  power  of  his- 
tory to  rescue  men  and  events  from  the  "  wide-spread,  insa- 
tiable maw  of  oblivion."  Captain  Bonneville,  so  far  as  his 
work  in  the  Rocky  mountains   is  concerned,  is  a  history- 


A    HISTORY    MADE    MAN.  397 

made  man.  Irving's  popular  work,  which  in  later  editions 
bears  Captain  Bonneville's  name,  is  not  in  reality  so  much  a 
record  of  that  officer's  adventures,  as  it  is  of  all  the  transac- 
tions of  a  period  in  which  the  business  of  the  fur  trade  in  the 
Rocky  mountains  was  at  its  height.  Scarcely  a  third  of 
the  work  has  to  do  exclusively  with  Bonneville,  but  around 
this  theme  as  a  nucleus  are  gathered  the  events  of  the  most 
interesting  era  of  the  fur  trade,  until  the  central  figure  in  the 
narrative  is  encased  in  a  frame  more  costly  and  attractive 
than  the  picture  itself.^ 

Benjamin  Louis  Eulalie  de  Bonneville  was  born  in  France, 
April  14,  1796.  His  father,  a  well-educated  man,  and  a 
publisher,  who  had  actively  discussed  the  questions  of  the 
day  through  his  pamphlets,  fell  under  the  displeasure  of  the 
government  and  was  imprisoned.  Upon  his  release  he 
sought  permission  to  sail  for  America,  but  it  was  refused 
him.  He  contrived,  however,  to  send  Mme.  Bonneville  and 
her  son  Benjamin  with  Thomas  Paine,  who,  likewise  find- 

^  The  authorities  here  relied  upon  are  the  following :  The  Rocky 
Mountains,  or  Scenes,  Incidents  and  Adventures  in  the  Far  West; 
Digested  from  the  Journal  of  Captain  B.  L.  E.  Bonneville  of  the  Army 
of  the  United  States,  and  Illustrated  from  Various  Other  Sources. 
Washington  Irving. 

Narrative  of  the  Adventures  of  Zenas  Leonard,  a  native  of  Clearfield 
County,  Pa.,  who  spent  five  years  in  trapping  for  furs,  trading  Tmth 
the  Indians  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  written  by  himself:  Printed  and 
Published  by  D.  W.  Moore,  Clearfield,  Pa.,  1839.  This  exceedingly  rare 
work  was  recently  discovered  by  Mr.  Horace  Kephart,  Librarian  of 
the  Mercantile  Library  in  St.  Louis.  It  is  almost  unique  as  only  three 
or  four  copies  are  known  to  exist.  Its  chief  value  is  the  new  light  which 
it  throws  upon  the  Walker  Expedition,  under  Bonneville's  direction  in 
1833-34.  Unfortunately  Leonard's  inaccuracy  in  matters  where  there 
are  other  authorities  to  check  him,  detracts  from  the  value  of  his  narra- 
tive in  this  case. 

The  Journal  and  Letters  of  N.  J.  Wyeth,  the  works  of  Townsend  and 
others  who  crossed  the  plains  while  Bonneville  was  there ;  the  corre- 
spondence of  the  American  Fur  Company,  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur 
Company  —  all  furnish  valuable  hints  as  to  Bonneville's  operations. 
There  are  a  few  letters  of  Bonneville  still  extant,  but  his  journals 
which  Irving  used  appear  to  be  lost. 

Life  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  by  W.  A.  Ferris. 


398  Bonneville's  leave  of  absence. 

ing  France  a  good  country  to  be  out  of  at  this  time,  secretly 
sailed  for  America.  Upon  their  arrival  in  the  United  States 
the  hionnevilles  went  to  live  for  a  time  with  Paine  at  New 
Rochelle.  Through  Paine's  influence  Benjamin  secured  a 
cadetship  at  West  Point  where  he  graduated  in  1819.  On 
the  occasion  of  Lafayette's  visit  to  i\merica  in  1825  he 
showed  so  much  interest  in  the  Bonneville  family  that  the 
young  officer  was  detailed  to  accompany  him  as  aide  on  his 
tour  of  the  States.  When  Lafayette  returned  to  France  he 
took  Bonneville  with  him  and  the  latter  remained  for  some 
years  an  inmate  of  the  Lafayette  home.  On  his  return  to 
America  he  was  assigned  to  duty  on  the  western  frontier, 
and  there  became  deluded  with  the  idea  that  there  was  a 
fortune  for  him  in  the  fur  trade.  He  began  casting  about 
for  an  opportunity  to  gratify  this  new  ambition  and  the 
result  was  his  famous  expedition  of  1832-5. 

Whether  the  prime  mover  in  this  enterprise  was  Bonne- 
ville himself,  or  certain  business  men  in  New  York  who 
wanted  to  enter  the  fur  trade  and  thought  the  Captain  a 
good  man  to  conduct  an  expedition,  does  not  appear.  Bonne- 
ville secured  a  leave  of  absence  from  August,  1831,  to  Octo- 
ber, 1833,  '^^th  permission  to  spend  it  in  the  unexplored 
regions  of  the  Far  West.  The  letter  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment, granting  this  leave,  states  that  it  was  "  for  the  pur- 
pose of  carrying  into  execution  your  design  of  exploring 
the  country  to  the  Rocky  mountains  and  beyond,  with  a 
view  to  ascertaining  the  nature  and  character  of  the  several 
tribes  inhabiting  those  regions ;  the  trade  which  might  be 
profitably  carried  on  with  them ;  the  quality  of  the  soil,  the 
productions,  the  minerals,  the  natural  history,  the  climate, 
the  geography  and  topography,  as  well  as  the  geology  of  the 
various  parts  of  the  country."  To  these  general  purposes 
the  Department  added  another  —  that  of  securing  special 
information  as  to  the  Indian  tribes,  their  numbers,  methods 
of  making  war,  their  condition,  equipment,  alliances,  etc. 
Captain  Bonneville's  expedition  was  to  be  of  no  expense  to 
the  United  States. 


ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    EXPEDITION.  399 

This  "  design  "  of  Captain  Bonneville  furnishes  a  clue  to 
the  arguments  which  he  presented  as  the  basis  of  his  appli- 
cation for  a  leave  of  absence.  It  is  certain,  however,  that 
whatever  may  have  been  his  representations  to  the  Depart- 
ment, the  primary  object  of  his  enterprise  was  trade.  The 
entire  record  of  his  work,  so  far  as  it  has  been  preserved  to 
us,  proves  this. 

Bonneville  entered  into  arrangements  with  Alfred  Seton, 
of  New  York,  one  of  the  old  Astorians,  by  which  Seton  and 
some  associates  were  to  provide  the  funds  for  a  mountain 
expedition  and  Bonneville  was  to  conduct  its  operations  in 
the  field.  In  carrying  out  this  program  the  Captain  organ- 
ized a  party  of  one  hundred  and  ten  men  with  two  principal 
assistants,  Mr,  I.  R.  Walker,  later  of  California  renown,  and 
Mr.  M.  S.  Cerre,  a  member  of  a  family  well  known  in  the 
fur  trade  of  the  West.  A  fine  assortment  of  goods  was  pro- 
vided and  the  equipment  was  in  all  respects  a  splendid  one. 
Wagons  were  used  on  the  expedition,  contrary  to  the  prac- 
tice of  the  mountain  traders  generally.  There  were  twenty 
of  these  vehicles  drawn  by  oxen  and  mules.  The  whole 
organization  was  on  the  basis  of  strict  military  discipline, 
and  to  all  outward  appearances  the  enterprise  promised  to 
make  a  very  formidable  showing  in  the  mountain  trade. 

The  story  of  Bonneville's  adventures  has  been  told  by 
Washington  Irving  in  a  more  interesting  way  than  it  is 
likely  ever  to  be  told  again.  All  that  will  be  given  here 
will  be,  as  in  the  case  of  Astoria,  a  condensed  sketch  of  the 
enterprise  with  such  additional  light  as  has  been  discovered 
since  Irving  wrote,  together  with  an  estimate  of  the  value 
of  Captain  Bonneville's  work  as  a  part  of  the  history  of  the 
West. 

The  final  organization  of  the  expedition  took  place  at 
Fort  Osage,  ten  miles  from  Independence,  and  the  start  from 
this  point  was  made  on  the  ist  of  May,  1832.  The  journey 
to  the  mountains  passed  off  without  notable  incident.  Bon- 
neville conducted  his  party  on  true  military  principles,  so  far 
as  protection  against  the  Indians  was  concerned,  and  he  was 


400  FORT    BONNEVILLE. 

evidently  esteemed  an  excellent  "  partisan."  The  route  was 
the  usual  one  up  the  valleys  of  the  Platte  and  Sweetwater 
rivers  through  South  Pass  and  thence  to  Green  river,  where 
he  arrived  about  noon  on  the  27th  of  July.  The  day  before 
he  was  passed  by  an  American  Fur  Company  party  under 
the  well-known  leader,  Fontenelle.  Both  parties  were  much 
too  late  for  the  annual  rendezvous  in  Pierre's  Hole,  which 
had  already  taken  place  some  two  weeks  before.  Bonneville 
and  Fontenelle  struck  Green  river  nearly  due  west  of  South 
Pass  at  the  mouth  of  Piney  Creek,  a  tributary  from  the  west. 
Bonneville  calls  this  stream  Grand  Encampment  creek,  very 
likely  from  the  circumstance  of  two  large  parties  having 
gone  into  camp  there.  In  a  short  time  both  parties  moved 
farther  up  stream  and  established  camps.  Here  the  Captain 
proceeded  to  erect  a  trading  post  with  the  evident  purpose 
of  making  a  permanent  establishment.  The  spot  selected 
was  on  the  west  shore  of  the  river,  five  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  Horse  creek.  The  site  was  an  ideal  one,  and  the 
Captain  erected  the  typical  post,  with  palisade  walls  and 
flanking  bastions  at  two  diagonal  corners.  This  was  the 
post  known  in  the  history  of  the  west  as  "  Fort  Bonneville," 
or  "  Bonneville's  Old  Fort,"  but  the  trappers  called  it  "  Fort 
Nonsense,"  or  "  Bonneville's  Folly,"  from  the  fact  that  no 
use  was  ever  made  of  it.^ 

The  truth  is  that  Bonneville  found  out,  after  the  work  was 
well  under  way,  what  he  should  have  ascertained  before  it 
was  begun,  that,  however  suitable  the  upper  valley  of  Green 
river  might  be  for  a  summer  rendezvous,  it  was  no  place  for 
a  permanent  post;  for  the  altitude  was  so  high  and  the 
winter  climate  so  severe,  that  Indians  and  trappers  alike  left 
it  during  the  winter  season.  For  his  approaching  winter 
quarters  therefore  he  determined  to  seek  a  more  hospitable 
climate,  and,  from  such  information  as  he  could  obtain,  he 
fixed  upon  the  headwaters  of  Salmon  river  as  the  most  eligi- 
ble spot.  His  stock  not  yet  being  all  recuperated,  he  de- 
tached a  small  party  under  one  Mathieu  to  pasture  them  for 

'  See  List  of  Posts,  Appendix  F. 


WINTER    QUARTERS    ON    SALMON    RIVER.  4OI 

a  time  on  the  banks  of  Bear  river  with  instructions  to  join 
him  at  winter  quarters  before  the  season  of  snow  set  in. 

Bonneville  himself  set  out  for  Jackson  and  Pierre's  Hole 
on  the  22nd  of  August.  In  Jackson  Hole  he  found  the 
unburied  remains  of  two  men,  More  and  Foy,  who  had  been 
murdered  there  by  the  Blackfeet  just  about  a  month  before. 
The  Captain  passed  by  and  examined  the  old  battle  field  of 
Pierre's  Hole  and  saw  the  gruesome  evidences  of  the  con- 
flict which  had  lately  taken  place  there.  The  site  for  the 
winter's  camping  ground  on  the  Salmon  river  was  reached 
on  the  26th  of  September  and  the  erection  of  winter  quarters 
was  at  once  begun.  This  location  was  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  river,  three  miles  below  the  Forks  (mouth  of  the  Lemhi) 
in  a  grove  of  cottonwoods.  According  to  Ferris,  who  saw 
it  about  a  month  later  and  who  was  naturally  an  unfriendly 
critic  of  an  opposition  trader,  it  was  a  "  miserable  estab- 
lishment," consisting  of  "  several  log  cabins,  low,  badly  con- 
structed, and  admirably  situated  for  besiegers  only  who 
would  be  sheltered  on  every  side  by  timber,  brush,  etc." 
The  latitude  of  the  place,  as  determined  by  Captain  Bonne- 
ville, was  N  45  degrees,  5 1  minutes,  24  seconds,  nearly  fifty 
miles  too  far  north. 

While  the  preparations  for  winter  quarters  were  going 
on.  Captain  Bonneville  dispatched  three  parties  of  hunters 
in  various  directions  and  retained  only  twenty  men  with 
himself.  The  autumn  hunt  wore  away  without  incident  of 
note,  except  the  Captain's  interesting  intercourse  with  the 
Nez  Perce  Indians.  Gradually  the  hunters  returned,  nearly 
all  of  them  having  had  encounters  of  a  more  or  less  disas- 
trous nature  with  the  Blackfeet.  The  camp  now  became 
crowded,  not  only  with  the  people  belonging  to  the  company, 
but  with  numerous  bands  of  the  Nez  Perce,  Flathead  and 
Pend  d'Oreille  Indians.  The  large  herds  of  horses  ate  up 
the  pasturage  while  the  game  resources  of  the  immediate 
neighborhood  were  by  no  means  adequate  to  the  wants  of 
the  multitude  that  had  to  be  fed.  Captain  Bonneville 
accordingly  detached  about  fifty  men  to  hunt  and  trap  on 


402  SEARCH    FOR    MATHIEU. 

Snake  river  with  orders  to  join  him  on  Horse  creek  in  the 
Green  river  valley  in  the  following  July.  The  Indians  soon 
moved  in  search  of  better  feed,  and  the  Captain,  after  suffi- 
cient delay  to  enable  him  secretly  to  cache  his  surplus  goods, 
followed  in  their  wake  on  the  20th  of  November.  He  soon 
overtook  the  Indians  in  their  new  camping  ground  and 
remained  there  until  the  9th  of  December,  when  the  whole 
party  moved  to  a  new  location  —  a  snug  retreat  in  the 
mountains  on  Lemhi  Fork  of  Salmon  river  where  they 
remained  until  the  festive  Christmas  season  took  place. 

On  the  26th  of  December,  with  thirteen  hunters  well 
armed  and  mounted,  Captain  Bonneville  set  out  in  search 
of  Mathieu,  who  had  been  detached  at  Green  river  to  recu- 
perate his  horses  in  Bear  river  valley,  and  whose  failure  to 
appear  began  to  cause  serious  apprehension.  The  Captain's 
route  lay  up  the  Lemhi  river,  thence  through  John  Day 
Defile  or  Pass  to  John  Day  (now  Little  Lost)  river;  thence 
to  Godm  river,  now  called  Big  Lost  river ;  thence  across  the 
lava  plains,  passing  the  base  of  the  westernmost  of  the  Three 
Buttes;  and  finally,  after  great  danger  and  hardship  from 
the  severe  cold  weather,  the  party  reached  the  Snake  river 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Portneuf,  January  12,  1833.  Here 
they  soon  fell  in  with  some  of  Mathieu' s  party,  and  on  the 
3rd  of  February  were  joined  by  that  leader  himself. 
Mathieu  had  had  bad  luck  for  he  had  lately  been  surprised 
by  the  Indians  and  had  lost  three  of  his  men. 

After  a  residence  of  three  weeks  in  Mathieu's  encamp- 
ment. Captain  Bonneville  set  out,  February  19,  with  sixteen 
men  for  the  caches  on  Salmon  river,  leaving  as  many  more 
men  on  Snake  river.  The  Captain's  party  made  the  journey 
in  safety  and  without  noteworthy  incident,  and  about  the 
middle  of  March  arrived  at  the  caches,  which  were  found 
untouched. 

After  having  taken  such  articles  as  he  was  in  need  of. 
Captain  Bonneville  prepared  for  his  spring  hunt.  He  dis- 
patched Cerre  and  Hodgkiss,  the  clerk,  with  an  assortment 
of  goods  to  trade  with  the  neighboring  Indians,  with  instruc- 


SPRING    HUNT    ON    THE    MALADE.  4O3 

tions  to  join  him  at  the  Sahnon  river  caches  on  June  15th. 
For  himself  and  the  rest  of  the  party,  numbering  about 
twenty,  he  had  selected  the  valley  of  the  Malade  river  as  the 
field  of  operations.  He  arrived  in  the  valley  of  Godin  river 
about  the  ist  of  April  and  here  determined  to  pause  a 
short  time,  it  being  a  good  muskrat  country,  when,  to  his 
great  annoyance,  he  fell  upon  the  trail  of  a  party  of  whites 
who  had  recently  passed  that  way  in  the  same  direction  that 
he  himself  was  going.  So  certain  was  it  that  the  Captain 
had  on  his  hands  a  rival  band  of  trappers  that  he  not  only 
detached  two  spies  to  ascertain  their  movements,  but  set 
forward  at  full  speed  to  reach  the  trapping  ground  as  soon 
as  possible.  Upon  meeting  the  returning  spies  it  was 
learned  that  Milton  G.  Sublette  and  J.  B.  Gervais,  partners 
in  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company,  themselves  able  and 
experienced  mountaineers,  with  a  party  of  twenty-one 
trained  men,  were  en  route  for  the  very  hunting  ground 
selected  by  Captain  Bonneville  for  his  spring  hunt.  This 
news  well-nigh  took  the  life  out  of  the  Captain's  movement, 
but  for  the  present  he  hung  close  upon  the  skirts  of  his 
adversaries.  The  snow  was  still  so  deep  that  neither  party 
could  cross  the  divide  between  Godin  river  and  the  Malade, 
and  they  had  to  wait  where  they  were  until  the  25th  of 
April.  The  month  of  May  was  spent  by  the  rival  parties 
on  the  headwaters  of  the  Malade,  and  although  Captain 
Bonneville's  historian  has  considerately  passed  over  the 
details  of  the  hunt,  it  is  evident  that  its  results  were  not 
altogether  satisfactory. 

Early  in  June  the  Captain  set  out  for  the  Salmon  river 
rendezvous,  where  he  arrived  safely  on  the  15th  and  met  by 
appointment  his  other  parties.  The  caches  were  safe  and 
the  party  having  been  re-equinDed,  set  out  to  find  Hodgkiss, 
who  had  been  left  with  the  Nez  Perces  on  the  Snake  river 
plain.  He  was  found  on  the  24th  of  June.  At  the  t">lace  of 
meeting,  which  was  about  sixteen  miles  from  Henry  Fork 
of  Snake  river,  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  who  was  on  his  way 
East,  and  was  traveling  in  company  with  Mr.  Ermatinger 


404  END    OF    THE    FIRST    YEAR  S    OPERATIONS. 

and  party  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  overtook  the  Cap- 
tain. The  British  trader  being  at  the  time  short  of  supplies, 
Captain  Bonneville  thought  the  opportunity  a  good  one  to 
do  the  trading  with  the  Indians  himself.  He  accordingly 
opened  his  goods,  but  not  an  Indian  would  touch  the  tempt- 
ing bait.  The  trader's  control  of  them  was  perfect,  and 
the  Captain  was  completely  disconcerted. 

While  at  this  camp  Wyeth  proposed  to  Captain  Bonneville 
a  joint  hunt  in  the  country  to  the  southwest  as  far  as  to  the 
mountains  of  California.  The  Captain  accepted  the  propo- 
sition, but  subsequently  the  plan  fell  through,  and  he  left  for 
Green  river  on  the  6th  of  July.  No  incident  of  moment 
happened  on  the  journey,  and  his  party  arrived  at  rendez- 
vous on  the  13th  of  July.^ 

The  Captain  was  now  at  the  end  of  his  first  year  in  the 
mountains  and  was  about  to  take  stock  of  the  results  of  his 
enterprise  thus  far.  The  party  of  fifty  whom  he  had 
detached  to  work  up  the  country  to  the  south  and  west  had 
fallen  in  with  Milton  Sublette  and  Gervais,  and  their  time 
had  been  frittered  away  in  useless  contention  with  their 
rivals.  A  trader  (probably  Montero  by  name)  had  been 
sent  the  year  before  to  make  a  fall  hunt  in  the  Crow  country 
with  instructions  to  come  to  the  Salmon  river  wintering 
ground  upon  its  completion.  He  had  not  been  seen  since 
until  at  the  present  rendezvous  where  Captain  Bonneville 
heard  for  the  first  time  the  woful  tale  of  his  misfortunes. 
While  in  the  Crow  country  with  a  village  of  that  tribe,  he 
was  relieved  of  nearly  all  his  property  —  horses,  traps, 
merchandise  —  by  those  polite  freebooters,  who  even 
seduced  most  of  his  men  to  desert  and  remain  in  their  own 
camp.  With  the  few  who  remained  faithful  he  sought  the 
protection  of  the  new  Fort  Cass  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big- 
horn and  remained  in  its  vicinity  during  the  winter.  But 
he  found  that  he  had  jumped  from  the  frying  pan  into  the 
fire.     His  men  were  constantly  stealing  away  to  the  fort 

'  The  dates  of  Wyeth's  journal  for  his  own  departure  and  arrival  are 
July  7th  and  July  15th. 


( 


THE    LUCKLESS    PARTISAN.  4O5 

with  all  the  furs  they  could  get  hold  of  and  trading  them 
for  liquor.  The  American  Fur  Company  was  undoubtedly 
back  of  this  faithless  behavior  as  well  as  the  previous  conduct 
of  the  Crows,  among  whom  they  had  active  and  unscrupu- 
lous agents. 

Early  in  the  spring  the  luckless  trader  set  out  to  try  his 
fortune  on  the  headwaters  of  Powder  river.  It  happened 
that  about  this  time  the  Aricara  Indians,  that  ever  treacher- 
ous and  hostile  tribe,  had  located  on  the  Platte  river,  and 
were  making  the  whole  country  round  about  unsafe  to  any 
but  large  parties.  That  very  spring  a  party  under  Bridger 
and  Fraeb  and  another  under  a  well-known  free  trapper  by 
the  name  of  Harris  had  lost  their  horses  at  the  hands  of 
these  Indians.  Soon  after  leaving  Fort  Cass  a  war  party  of 
Aricaras  were  found  to  be  hovering  about  Montero's  camp 
and  in  the  course  of  a  few  days  succeeded  in  capturing  all 
his  horses.  In  doing  this  they  undertook  to  allay  suspicions 
by  sending  two  of  their  warriors  on  a  friendly  mission  to 
camp  while  the  rest  should  drive  off  the  horses.  The  trap- 
pers, suspecting  something,  seized  the  two  Indians,  but  not 
in  time  to  save  the  horses.  Negotiations  then  ensued  for 
the  ransom  of  the  prisoners.  The  trappers  refused  to  give 
them  up  except  upon  a  restoration  of  all  the  horses,  and 
threatened  to  burn  the  captives  if  this  were  not  done.  The 
Indians  left  their  companions  to  the  mercy  of  their  cantors, 
who,  true  to  their  threat,  consigned  them  to  the  flames. 
This  unlucky  event  completed  the  ruin  of  the  partisan  and  he 
turned  up  at  rendezvous  with  only  himself,  and  thankful  for 
that  much. 

Putting  everything  together  Captain  Bonneville  did  not 
have  as  a  result  of  a  year's  work  of  his  party  of  over  one 
hundred  men  more  than  about  twenty-three  packs  of  beaver, 
or  less  than  twenty  skins  to  the  man  for  his  party.  That 
would  scarcely  pay  the  wages  of  his  men.'* 

*"  Messrs.  Bonneville  &  Co.  2,2^/2  packs.  Few  goods,  few  horses, 
and  poor  Capt.  Cerry  [Cerre]  goes  home.  B.  remains."  —  Wyeth 
Sources  of  the  History  of  Oregon,  p.  70. 

"  Bonneville,  seeing  that  he  is  nearly  gone,  plays  the  devil  with  us. 


406  PLANS    FOR    SECOND    YEAR. 

Captain  Bonneville  remained  at  rendezvous  twelve  days 
doing  what  he  could  to  keep  up  his  end  with  the  Rocky 
Mountain  and  American  Fur  Companies,  who  were 
encamped  in  the  neighborhood.  In  making  his  arrange- 
ments for  the  ensuing  year  his  principal  move  was  to  be, 
according  to  his  own  representation,  as  recorded  by  Irving, 
a  thorough  exploration  of  Great  Salt  Lake  and  the  country 
around  it.  This  work  he  entrusted  to  his  principal  assist- 
ant, Mr.  I.  R.  Walker.  For  the  purpose  of  conveying  his 
meager  returns  to  the  states  he  delegated  his  second  assist- 
ant, Mr.  M.  S.  Cerre,  who  was  to  follow  the  river  route 
in  company  with  the  parties  of  Campbell  and  Wyeth.  For 
himself  he  decided  to  remain  and  inaugurate  a  fall  hunt  in 
the  Crow  country,  notwithstanding  that  his  leave  of  absence 
would  expire  in  the  following  October. 

A  shadow  of  doubt  will  always  attach  to  the  statement  of 
motives  which  actuated  Captain  Bonneville  in  regard  to  this 
expedition.  According  to  Irving  it  was  one  of  the  Cap- 
tain's cherished  schemes  "  to  have  the  [Great  Salt]  lake 
properly  explored,  and  all  its  secrets  revealed ;  and  while  it 
was  one  in  which  his  imagination  evidently  took  a  leading 
part,  he  believed  that  it  would  be  attended  with  great  profit, 
from  the  numerous  beaver  streams  with  which  the  lake  must 
be  fringed."     His  instructions  to  Walker,  who  was  charged 

He  oflfers  to  common  hands  $350  to  $1,000  per  annum,  knowing  that 
when  the  time  is  up,  he  will  pay  them  with  wind.  Many  of  the  men 
that  I  have  brought  out,  having  received  so  large  an  allowance  in  St. 
Louis,  have  left  me.  I  will  use  every  effort  to  get  them  back.  Bonne- 
ville has  23  packs  of  beaver,  principally  obtained  from  trappers  indebted 
to  the  American  Fur  Company,  and  Fontenelle  and  Drips.  He 
is  out  of  goods  and  can  get  no  supply  this  year.  I  am  in  hopes  we 
shall  get  clear  of  him.  .  .  .  If  he  continues  as  he  has  done,  $80,000 
will  not  save  him.  Sublette's  company  are  doing  well.  They  have 
none  but  hired  men  and  can  not  be  put  down  by  competition."  Letter 
from  Fontenelle  to  McKenzie,  written  at  Green  river  rendezvous  two 
days  before  Bonneville's  departure. 

"  It  is  conceded  that  Bonneville,  out  of  all  his  grand  expedition  will 
have  only  enough  to  pay  the  wages  of  his  men."  Chouteau  to  Astor, 
September  25,  1833. 


THE    SALT    LAKE    PROJECT.  4O7 

with  the  expedition,  and  "  in  whose  experience  and  abihty 
he  had  great  confidence,"  were  "  to  keep  along  the  shores  of 
the  lake,  and  trap  in  all  the  streams  along  his  route."  For 
this  purpose  Walker  was  given  a  party  of  forty  men  and 
Captain  Bonneville's  resources  were  taxed  to  the  utmost 
to  suppl}^  a  complete  equipment.  The  expedition  was  to 
be  absent  for  a  year  and  was  to  meet  in  the  following  sum- 
mer at  the  appointed  place  of  rendezvous  in  Bear  river 
valley. 

Such  is  the  unequivocal  statement  of  Captain  Bonneville, 
as  reported  by  Irving,  in  regard  to  the  motives  of  his  so- 
called  Salt  Lake  expedition.  It  constitutes  the  sole  evi- 
dence that  the  exploration  of  Great  Salt  Lake  was  any  part 
of  the  Captain's  scheme.  Everything  else  goes  to  show  that 
his  plan  was  to  send  an  expedition  to  California  and  that  the 
Salt  Lake  project  was  wholly  an  afterthought.  Already 
only  two  weeks  before  Captain  Bonneville  had  agreed  to  an 
arrangement  with  Wyeth  for  exactly  such  an  expedition,  but 
for  some  reason  it  had  fallen  through,  probably  because  the 
Captain  preferred  to  conduct  it  entirely  with  his  own 
resources  and  not  place  himself  in  any  way  in  the  hands  of 
the  energetic  New  Englander.  Three  men  who  were  mem- 
bers of  the  party,  Walker  himself,  George  Nidiver,  and 
Zenas  Leonard,  afterwards  wrote  up  their  recollections  of 
the  expedition.  All  of  them  speak  of  it  as  being  from  the 
first  intended  to  go  to  California.  Leonard  for  example 
says  that  Walker  "  was  ordered  to  steer  through  an  un- 
known country  toward  the  Pacific,  and  if  he  did  not  find 
beaver  he  should  return  to  the  Great  Salt  Lake  in  the  follow- 
ing summer.  ...  I  was  anxious  to  go  to  the  coast 
of  the  Pacific,  and  for  that  purpose  hired  with  Mr.  Walker 
as  clerk  for  a  certain  sum  per  year."  Nidiver  says  (Ban- 
croft, vol.  XX.,  p.  41,  n.  14)  :  "  In  the  spring  [of  1833] 
there  were  a  large  number  of  trappers  gathered  at  the  ren- 
dezvous in  Green  river  valley,  and  among  them  Captain 
Walker  and  company  bound  for  California.  We  joined 
him,  making  in  all  a  party  of  thirty-six." 


408  TRUE    PURPOSE    OF    THE    EXPEDITION. 

Such  is  the  direct  evidence  of  those  who  went  on  the  expe- 
dition. The  circumstantial  proof  is  equally  convincing. 
If  Captain  Bonneville's  instructions  were  to  hold  to  the  shore 
of  Great  Salt  Lake,  carrying  on  the  joint  purposes  of  explo- 
ration and  trapping,  why  did  he  supply  the  party  for  a  year 
and  put  off  a  meeting  with  them  until  the  following  sum- 
mer? The  remotest  point  on  Great  Salt  Lake  was  scarcely 
two  hundred  miles  from  rendezvous,  and  this  Captain  Bon- 
neville knew  very  well  at  the  time.  If  this  ambitious 
explorer  were  really  so  absorbed  in  his  desire  to  learn  all 
about  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  how  happened  it  that  he  remained 
three  years  in  the  country  and  passed  repeatedly  within  fifty 
or  a  hundred  miles  of  the  lake  but  never  went  to  see  it? 
Explorers  do  not  ordinarily  explore  in  that  way. 

The  truth  is  Captain  Bonneville  sent  out  a  trapping  expe- 
dition to  go  through  to  California.  The  information 
derived  from  Wyeth  had  convinced  him  that  there  was  every 
prospect  of  success  in  that  direction.  He  had  no  thoughts 
of  exploration  except  as  a  mere  incident  to  the  main  purpose. 
Not  an  instrument  of  any  kind  for  taking  observations  did 
he  provide  with  the  elaborate  equipment.  It  was  beaver  fur, 
not  geographical  knowledge,  that  he  was  after.  His  entire 
sinews  of  war  were  supplied  by  those  who  were  looking  for 
profits.  They  had  not  equipped  him  for  an  exploring  tour, 
and  his  experience  during  the  past  year  had  warned  him 
that  he  must  bestir  himself  more  vigorously  if  he  was  to 
meet  the  expectations  of  his  backers.  That  the  Captain 
deliberately  planned  an  expensive  exploring  tour  is  there- 
fore not  to  be  supposed.  Irving  himself  gives  a  hint  of  the 
real  motive  of  the  expedition  in  his  reference  to  its  unfortu- 
nate outcome.  "  The  faikire  of  the  expedition,"  he  says, 
"  was  a  blow  to  his  [Bonneville's]  pride,  and  a  still  greater 
blow  to  his  purse."  It  was  principally  a  blow  to  his  purse, 
for  surely  his  pride  ought  to  have  been  more  gratified  by 
what  the  Walker  party  actually  did  in  the  line  of  exploration 
than  what  it  would  have  accomplished  had  it  remained  on 
the  borders  of  Great  Salt  Lake. 


ZENAS    LEONARD.  4O9 

Having  premised  this  much  upon  the  scope  and  purpose 
of  this  expedition  it  is  in  order  to  follow  the  party  upon  its 
adventurous  path  to  and  from  the  Pacific.  Walker,  the 
leader,  was  a  proper  man  for  that  sort  of  work.  He  had 
had  a  long  and  varied  experience  in  the  Santa  Fe  and  Mis- 
souri trade.  He  understood  the  Indians  well,  loved  the 
hardships  of  wilderness  life  and  was  particularly  fond  of 
adventure  in  new  and  untried  fields.  In  later  years  he 
became  a  conspicuous  character  in  California  history. 

Zenas  Leonard,  Mr.  Walker's  clerk,  whose  connection 
with  the  expedition  has  only  recently  come  to  light,  is  now 
our  most  circumstantial  authority  upon  its  history.  He 
was  a  native  of  Clearfield  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  like 
many  another  youth,  sought  to  try  his  fortune  in  the  unex- 
plored regions  beyond  the  Mississippi.  He  left  his  native 
state  in  the  spring  of  183 1,  and  having  engaged  in  the  serv- 
ice of  Gant  and  Blackwell  of  St.  Louis,  left  that  city  on 
April  24th  with  a  party  of  seventy  men  on  an  expedition  to 
the  mountains.  The  route  was  the  usual  one  by  way  of  the 
Platte  river,  although  at  that  time  it  was  not  much  traveled. 
The  party  arrived  at  the  Forks  of  the  Platte  on  the  ist,  and 
at  Laramie  river  on  the  27th,  of  August.  Here  they  com- 
menced their  fall  trapping  campaign.  Leonard  joined  a 
party  of  twenty-one  men  under  Alfred  K.  Stephens,  whose 
immediate  field  of  labor  was  along  the  valley  of  the  Laramie. 
The  party  lost  all  their  horses  during  the  winter  and  then 
undertook  to  go  to  Santa  Fe  where  Stephens  had  been 
before.  They  made  an  inefifectual  attempt  to  penetrate  the 
mountains  and  finally,  on  the  20th  of  April,  1832,  they 
started  for  the  mouth  of  the  Laramie,  where  the  several 
divisions  of  their  company  were  to  meet  in  the  spring. 
None  of  the  other  parties,  however,  put  in  an  appearance, 
and  Stephens  and  his  men  were  still  waiting  when  Sublette 
and  Fitzpatrick  came  along  with  the  caravan  bound  for 
the  annual  rendezvous  in  Pierre's  Hole.  The  little  band, 
discouraged  and  forlorn,  got  to  quarreling  among  them- 
selves, and  finally  abandoned  further  effort  to  hunt  inde- 


4IO         DEATH  OF  ALFRED  K.  STEPHENS, 

pendently  and  hired  out  to  Fitzpatrick,  Stephens  sold  his 
furs  to  Fitzpatrick,  and  they  were  cached  near  the  Laramie 
pending  Sublette's  return  from  the  rendezvous. 

The  whole  party  then  went  on  to  the  rendezvous  in 
Pierre's  Hole  and  Leonard  participated  in  the  battle  with 
the  Blackfeet  on  the  i8th  of  July.  A  day  or  two  after- 
ward Stephens  and  Fitzpatrick  quarreled  about  the  terms  of 
their  bargain  on  the  Laramie.  Stephens,  considering  him- 
self treated  unfairly,  hired  four  men  and  started  back  to 
seize  the  furs  before  Sublette,  who  had  not  yet  recovered 
from  his  wound  in  the  late  battle,  could  overtake  them.  In 
the  valley  of  Jackson  Hole  this  little  party  and  seven  men  of 
Wyeth's  expedition  who  were  returning  home,  were  attacked 
by  the  Blackfeet.  Two  men  were  killed  and  Stephens  was 
severely  wounded.  He  returned  to  Pierre's  Hole,  where  he 
remained  until  July  30,  when  he  set  out  for  home  with  the 
party  of  Wm.  L.  Sublette.  He  died  the  same  day  and  was 
buried  near  the  trail  in  the  southeast  extremity  of  Pierre's 
Hole.^ 

Leonard  and  one  Saunders  joined  the  party  of  fifteen  free 
trappers  who  went  with  Milton  Sublette  to  the  southwest 
from  Pierre's  Hole  for  the  fall  hunt  of  1832.  They  wan- 
dered over  an  immense  stretch  of  territory,  nearly  to  the 
sources  of  the  Owyhee  river  in  northern  Nevada,  and  then 
made  their  way  back  to  the  neighborhood  of  Great  Salt 
Lake.  From  this  locality  they  moved  east  to  the  Crow 
country  and  thence  southwest  to  the  Platte  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Laramie.  Here  they  found  a  letter  from  Gant  detailing 
a  catalogue  of  misfortunes  which  effectually  disposed  of  any 
further  hope  of  business  in  that  quarter.  Leonard  and 
Saunders,  becoming  discouraged,  resolved  to  go  to  the  Green 
river  rendezvous  of  1833,  then  about  to  assemble.  Arrived 
there  they  fell  irt  with  Walker  and  engaged  for  the  Califor- 
nia expedition.     Such  were  some  of  the  experiences  of  the 

"  At  Stephen's  request  "  a  few  minutes  before  his  death "  Sublette 
took  back  to  St.  Louis  86  pounds  beaver  and  7  pounds  castorum  be- 
longing to  Stephens.  The  receipt  for  this  property  is  still  in  existence 
in  the  possession  of  M.  L.  Gray  of  St.  Louis. 


THE    WALKER    EXPEDITION.  4I  I 

man  who  is  fairly  entitled  to  be  called  the  historian  of  the 
Walker  expedition  to  California  in  1833. 

Walker's  party,  consisting  of  forty  men,*'  left  Green  river 
July  24,  1833.  They  went  directly  to  the  valley  of  Great 
Salt  Lake,  where  they  stopped  to  lay  in  their  final  supply  of 
buffalo  meat.  The  last  buffalo  was  killed  August  4th,  and 
three  days  later  the  party  bade  farewell  to  the  lake  at  its 
western  extremity  and  "  took  a  westerly  course  into  the 
most  extensive  and  barren  plains  I  have  ever  seen."  (Leon- 
ard.) Wending  their  painful  way  through  the  Salt  Lake 
desert  they  finally  reached  the  Humboldt  river,  to  whicii 
they  gave  the  name  Barren,  because  "  the  country,  native?. 
and  everything  belonging  to  it  justly  deserve  the  name." 
On  the  4th  of  October  they  arrived  at  the  sinks  of  the  Hum- 
boldt, and  here  there  transpired  an  event  which  has  cast  a 
lasting  odium  uix)n  the  expedition. 

While  following  down  the  course  of  the  Humboldt  par- 
ties of  the  Pai-ute  or  Digger  Indians  were  encountered  — 
a  forlorn  and  impoverished  race,  generally  inoffensive  and 
friendly  to  the  whites.  But  from  some  not  very  patent 
cause  they  incurred  the  enmity  of  Walker's  men.  It  may^ 
have  been  their  thefts  —  both  Irving's  and  Leonard's 
accounts  say  as  much  —  and  this  racial  weakness  of  the 
Indian  tribes  makes  it  easy  to  believe  so  —  but  it  is  more 
probable  that  these  reckless  trappers,  far  away  from  even 
wilderness  law,  and  among  Indians  whom  they  saw  that 
they  could  insult  with  impunity,  were  inclined  to  treat  them 
much  as  they  would  prowling  and  pilfering  wolves. 

Their  earlier  experiences  with  these  Indians  are  thus 
related  by  Leonard :  "  We  continued  traveling  down  the 
river,  now  and  then  catching  a  few  beaver.  But  as  we 
continued  extending  our  acquaintance  with  the  natives,  they 
began  to  practice  their  national  failing  of  stealing.  So 
eager  were  they  to  possess  themselves  of  our  traps  that  we 

'  According  to  Leonard  there  must  have  been  nearly  sixty  in  the  party. 
Probably  the  forty  were  all  Bonneville's  men,  but  others  joined  the  ex- 
pedition. 


412  THE    DIGGER    INDIANS. 

were  forced  to  quit  trapping  in  this  vicinity  and  make  for 
some  other  quarter.  The  great  annoyance  we  sustained  in 
this  greatly  displeased  some  of  our  men,  and  they  were  for 
taking  vengeance  before  we  left  the  country  —  but  this  was 
not  the  disposition  of  Captain  Walker.  These  discontents 
being  out  hunting  one  day,  fell  in  with  a  few  Indians,  two 
or  three  of  whom  they  killed  and  then  returned  to  camp,  not 
daring  to  let  the  Captain  know  it.  The  next  day  while  out 
hunting  they  repeated  the  same  violation,  but  this  time  were 
not  so  successful,  for  the  Captain  found  it  out,  and  imme- 
diately took  measures  for  its  effectual  suppression." 

Upon  arriving  at  the  Humboldt  Lakes  it  was  found  that 
the  Indians  were  about  in  great  numbers  and  it  was  feared 
that  trouble  was  brewing.  Finally  one  day  matters  came 
to  a  head  in  the  following  summary  fashion :  "  A  little 
before  sunset,  on  taking  a  view  of  the  surrounding  waste 
with  a  spy  glass,  we  discovered  smoke  issuing  from  the 
high  grass  in  every  direction.  This  was  sufficient  to  con- 
vince us  that  we  were  in  the  midst  of  a  large  body  of 
Indians,  but  as  we  could  see  no  timber  to  go  to,  we  con- 
cluded that  it  would  be  as  well  to  remain  in  our  present 
situation  and  defend  ourselves  as  well  as  we  could.  We 
readily  guessed  that  these  Indians  were  in  arms  to  avenge 
the  death  of  those  our  men  had  killed  up  the  river,  and  if 
they  could  succeed  in  getting  any  advantage  over  us,  we 
had  no  expectation  that  they  would  give  us  any  quarter. 
Our  first  care,  therefore,  was  to  secure  our  horses,  which 
we  did  by  fastening  them  all  together  and  then  hitching 
them  to  pickets  driven  into  the  ground.  This  done,  we 
commenced  constructing  something  for  our  own  safety. 
The  lake  was  immediately  in  our  rear,  and  piling  up  all  our 
baggage  in  front,  we  had  quite  a  substantial  breastwork  — 
which  would  have  been  as  impregnable  to  the  Indian  arrows 
as  were  the  cotton  bales  to  the  British  bullets  at  New  Orleans 
in  1815. 

"  But  before  we  had  got  everything  completed  the  Indians 
isslied  from  their  hiding  place  in  the  grass,  to  the  number, 


THE    TRAPPERS    SUSPICIOUS.  413 

as  near  as  I  could  guess,  of  eight  or  nine  hundred,  and 
marched  straight  toward  us,  dancing  and  singing  in  the 
greatest  glee.  When  within  about  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
yards  of  us  they  all  sat  down  on  the  ground  and  dispatched 
five  of  their  chiefs  to  inquire  whether  they  might  come  in 
and  smoke  with  us.  This  request  Captain  Walker  very 
prudently  refused,  as  they  evidently  had  no  good  intentions, 
but  told  them  that  he  was  willing  to  meet  them  half  way 
between  the  breastwork  and  where  their  people  were  sitting. 
This  appeared  to  displease  them  very  much,  and  they  went 
back  not  the  least  bit  pleased  with  the  reception  they  had 
met  with. 

"  After  the  five  deputies  related  the  result  of  their  visit  to 
their  constituents,  a  part  of  them  rose  and  signed  to  us  that 
they  were  coming  to  our  camp.  At  this  ten  or  twelve  of 
our  men  mounted  the  breastwork  and  signed  to  them  that 
if  they  advanced  a  step  farther  it  would  be  at  the  peril  of 
their  lives.  They  wanted  to  know  in  what  way  we  would 
do  it.  Our  guns  were  exhibited  as  the  weapons  of  death. 
This  they  seemed  to  discredit  and  only  laughed  at  us.  Then 
they  wanted  to  see  what  effect  our  guns  would  have  on 
some  ducks  that  w"ere  swimming  in  the  lake  near  the  shore. 
We  fired  at  the  ducks,  thinking  in  this  way  to  strike  terror 
into  the  savages  and  drive  them  away.  The  ducks  were 
killed,  which  astonished  the  Indians  a  good  deal,  but  not  so 
much  as  the  noise  of  the  guns  —  which  caused  them  to  fall 
flat  to  the  ground.  After  this  they  put  up  a  beaver  skin  on 
a  bank  for  us  to  shoot  at  for  their  gratification,  when  they 
left  us  for  the  night.  This  night  we  stationed  a  strong 
guard,  but  no  Indians  made  their  appearance,  and  we  were 
permitted  to  pass  the  night  in  pleasant  dreams. 

"  Early  in  the  morning  we  resumed  our  journey  along  the 
lakes,  without  seeing  any  signs  of  Indians  until  after  sun- 
rise, when  we  discovered  them  issuing  from  the  high  grass 
in  front,  rear,  and  on  either  side  of  us.  This  caused  great 
alarm  among  our  men  at  first,  as  we  thought  that  they  had 
surrounded  us  on  purpose ;  but  it  appeared  that  we  had  only 


414  THE    CHARGE    AND    MASSACRE. 

happened  among  them,  and  they  were  as  much  frightened 
as  we.  From  this  we  turned  our  course  from  the  border  of 
the  lake  into  the  plain.  We  had  not  traveled  far  when  the 
Indians  began  to  move  after  us  —  first  in  small  numbers,  but 
presently  in  large  companies.  They  did  not  approach  near 
until  we  had  traveled  in  this  way  for  several  hours,  when 
they  began  to  send  small  parties  in  advance,  who  would 
solicit  us  most  earnestly  to  stop  and  smoke  with  them. 
After  they  had  repeated  this  several  times  we  began  to 
understand  their  motive  —  which  was  to  detain  us  in  order 
to  let  their  whole  force  come  up  and  surround  us,  or  to  get 
into  close  quarters  with  us,  when  their  bows  and  arrows 
would  be  as  fatal  and  more  effective  than  fire-arms. 

"  We  now  began  to  be  a  little  stern  with  them,  and  gave 
them  to  understand  that  if  they  continued  to  trouble  us 
they  would  do  it  at  their  own  risk.  In  this  manner  we  were 
teased  until  a  party  of  eighty  or  one  hundred  came  forward 
who  appeared  more  saucy  and  bold  than  any  others.  This 
greatly  excited  Captain  Walker,  who  was  naturally  of  a  very 
cool  temperament,  and  he  gave  orders  for  the  charge,  saying 
that  there  was  nothing  equal  to  a  good  start  in  such  a  case. 

"  This  was  sufficient.  A  number  of  our  men  had  never 
been  engaged  in  any  fighting  with  the  Indians,  and  were 
anxious  to  try  their  skill.  When  our  commander  gave  his 
consent  to  chastise  these  Indians  and  give  them  an  idea  of 
our  strength,  thirty-two  of  us  dismounted  and  prepared 
ourselves  to  give  a  severe  blow.  We  tied  our  extra  horses 
to  some  shrubs  and  left  them  with  the  main  body  of  the 
company,  and  then  selecting  each  a  choice  steed,  mounted 
and  surrounded  this  party  of  Indians.  We  closed  in  on 
them  and  fired,  leaving  thirty-nine  dead  on  the  field,  which 
was  nearly  the  half.  The  remainder  were  overwhelmed 
with  dismay,  running  into  the  high  grass  in  every  direction, 
howling  in  the  most  lamentable  manner.  Captain  Walker 
then  gave  orders  to  some  of  the  men  to  take  the  bows  and 
arrows  of  the  fallen  Indians  and  put  the  wounded  out  of 
misery. 


GUILTY    CONSCIENCES.  415 

"The  severity  with  which  we  dealt  with  these  Indians  may- 
be revolting  to  the  heart  of  the  philanthropist ;  but  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case  altogether  atone  for  the  cruelty.  It 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  we  were  far  removed  from  any 
succor  in  case  we  were  surrounded,  and  that  the  country 
we  were  in  was  swarming  with  hostile  savages,  sufficiently 
numerous  to  devour  us.  Our  object  was  to  strike  a  decisive 
blow.  This  we  did,  even  to  a  greater  extent  than  we  had 
intended."  "^ 

It  will  be  seen  without  much  difficulty  from  the  foregoing 
narrative  that  this  atrocious  act  was  largely  the  result  of  a 
guilty  conscience.  The  thefts  of  the  traps  had  been  pun- 
ished by  the  slaughter  of  several  of  the  natives  and  the 
presence  of  so  many  of  their  people  so  soon  afterward  very 
reasonably  excited  alarm  lest  they  were  bent  on  revenge. 
With  any  other  tribe  of  Indians  this  would  have  been  the 
case,  and  the  men  can  hardly  be  blamed  for  feeling  very 
much  concerned  about  their  own  safety.  There  was  cer- 
tainly more  excuse  for  their  last  act  than  for  those  which  led 
to  it. 

This  was  not  the  end  of  the  trouble  with  these  poor 
Indians.  A  week  later  when  the  party  were  involved  in  the 
mountain  labyrinths  and  were  seeking  a  way  across  the 
Sierra,  Captain  Walker,  Nidiver,  and  Leonard  were  out 
together  exploring  for  a  pass.  While  thus  engaged  the 
following  scene  transpired,  as  related  by  Leonard :  "  Nidi- 
ver was  separated  from  us  when  two  Indians  made  their 
appearance,  but  as  soon  as  they  saw  us,  they  took  flight  and 
ran  directly  towards  Nidiver,  who,  at  once  supposing  that 
they  had  been  committing  some  mischief  with  us,  and  as 
they  were  running  one  behind  the  other,  killed  them  both  at 
one  shot.  After  this  unpleasant  circumstance  we  went 
back  to  our  horses  and  thence  to  camp.  Mr.  Nidiver  was 
very  sorry  when  he  discovered  what  he  had  done." 

It  was  October  loth,  according  to  Leonard,  when  the 
party  left  Battle  Lakes  and  undertook  to  cross  the  moun- 

^ "  The  lakes  have  been  named  Battle  Lakes."     Leonard. 


41 6  CROSSING    THE    SIERRAS, 

tains.  The  task  proved  one  of  great  difficulty  and  terrible 
suffering.  Provisions  became  entirely  exhausted.  Twen- 
ty-four horses  were  lost  on  the  mountains,  seventeen  of  them 
being  used  for  food.  The  party  found  no  game  at  all  until 
they  reached  the  other  side.  The  first  food  of  any  account 
procured  was  a  basket  of  acorns  which  a  frightened  Indian 
let  drop  when  he  saw  the  party.     This  was  October  25th. 

From  Leonard's  account,  when  the  party  arrived  at  the 
verge  of  the  Sierra  they  found  it  so  steep  as  to  be  impossible 
of  descent  in  most  places  and  they  were  forced  to  explore  for 
a  long  while  before  they  found  a  practicable  route.  On  the 
first  day  of  their  search  they  killed  a  small  deer,  "  the  first 
game  larger  than  a  rabbit  we  had  killed  since  the  4th  of 
August,  when  we  killed  our  last  buffalo  near  the  Great  Salt 
Lake."  That  day  the  party  had  to  let  their  horses  down 
by  ropes  over  a  long  slope  of  loose  rocks,  which  they  accom- 
plished in  time  for  their  evening  camp.  The  hunters  came 
in  after  dark  with  two  large  black-tailed  deer  and  a  black 
bear.  The  famine  was  over,  the  redwood  and  balsam  of  the 
sunny  slopes  of  the  mountains  had  taken  the  place  of  the 
snow-covered  tops  of  the  Sierras,  and  in  the  far  distance  the 
eye  ranged  over  a  vast  plain,  which,  as  they  thought,  sank 
away  into  the  bosom  of  the  Pacific. 

The  party  reached  the  foot  of  the  main  range  on  October 
30th.  In  the  course  of  the  next  few  days  they  passed  cer- 
tain natural  features  which,  to  one  familiar  with  that  region, 
might  lead  to  an  identification  of  their  route.  Soon  after 
leaving  the  base  of  the  mountains  they  passed  "  some  trees 
of  the  redwood  species,  incredibly  large,  some  of  which 
would  measure  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  fathoms  around  the 
trunk  at  the  height  of  a  man's  head  above  the  ground." 
Soon  afterward  they  fell  upon  a  river  whose  course  they 
followed  for  a  considerable  distance.  "  Its  bed  lay  very 
deep,  forming  very  high  banks  even  in  smooth  and  level 
parts  of  the  country;  but  where  there  are  rocks  its  appear- 
ance is  beyond  doubt  the  most  remarkable  of  any  other 
water  course.     In  some  places  the  rocks  are  piled  up  per- 


YOSEMITE    DISCOVERED.  41/ 

pendiciilar  to  such  a  height  that  a  man  on  top,  viewed  from 
the  bed  of  the  river,  does  not  look  larger  than  a  small  child. 
From  the  appearance  of  that  precipice  it  is  not  exaggerating 
to  state  that  they  may  be  found  from  a  quarter  to  half  a 
mile  high,  and  many  of  them  no  wider  at  the  top  than  at  the 
bottom."  May  this  have  been  the  first  visit  of  Americans 
to  the  far-famed  Yosemite?* 

On  the  night  of  November  12th  (Leonard)  occurred  the 
meteoric  shower  of  1833,  and  it  caused  great  terror  to  some 
of  the  more  superstitious  of  the  party ;  but  Captain  Walker, 
with  the  versatility  of  Columbus  when  the  magnetic  needle 
went  wrong,  explained  it  all  away  for  them.  Early  the 
next  morning  they  came  to  where  the  tide  rose  and  fell  and 
soon  reached  a  bay,  which  was  of  course  that  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. They  did  not  long  remain  here  but  set  out  in  a  south- 
ern direction  and  on  the  20th  caught  sight  of  the  broad 
Pacific. 

It  is  not  intended  to  follow  in  detail  the  doings  of  the 
party  during  the  ensuing  winter,  for  that  properly  belongs  to 
the  history  of  California  with  which  we  are  not  at  present 
concerned.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  day  after  their  arrival 
at  the  Pacific  they  met  the  Boston  ship  Ladoga,  Captain 
Bradshaw  (or  as  Leonard  calls  him,  Baggshaw),  and  were 
hospitably  entertained  by  him.  Captain  Bradshaw  received 
the  furs  which  they  had  caught  on  their  way  across  the 
mountains  and  paid  for  them  in  provisions. 

The  winter  slipped  away  quickly  in  the  enticing  sunny 
climate  of  California,  while  the  bull  fights,  horse  races,  and 
occasional  hunts  made  the  whole  experience  a  very  paradise 
compared  with  the  rugged  life  of  a  beaver  trapper  in  the 
heart  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  We  may  well  imagine  that 
it  was  with  some  reluctance  that  the  party,  upon  the 
approach  of  spring,  turned  their  faces  again  toward  the 
inhospitable  region  where  they  had  endured  so  much  hard- 
ship.    In  fact  six  of  their  number,  all  of  them  mechanics, 

*  It  is  said  that  Walker  requested  that  the  epitaph  on  his  tombstone 
record  the  fact  that  he  discovered  the  Yosemite  wonderland. 


4l8  THE    RETURN    JOURNEY. 

remained,  "  with  the  determination  of  making  a  permanent 
residence  in  the  country,  and  never  again  returning  to  the 
States" ;  while  the  rest  of  them  "  lazily  left  our  camp 
for  the  East."  The  returning  party  numbered,  according  to 
Leonard,  fifty-two  men,  with  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
horses,  forty-seven  beef  and  thirty  dogs,  together  with  an 
outfit  of  provisions.  The  departure  was  on  the  14th  of 
February,  1834. 

The  return  route  lay  at  first  up  the  San  Joaquin  valley. 
The  progress  of  the  party  was  very  leisurely  and  just  before 
starting  to  cross  the  southern  end  of  the  Sierras,  they  hired 
two  Indian  guides  under  whose  leadership  they  made  the 
passage  in  safety,  though  with  some  difficulty.  The  guides 
were  dismissed  on  the  ist  day  of  March. 

From  this  point  the  party  turned  north,  keeping  well  into 
the  foothills  of  the  mountains,  where  they  could  secure 
water,  intending  to  hold  this  direction  until  they  should 
reach  the  outgoing  trail  of  the  preceding  year.  Once,  how- 
ever, they  undertook  to  strike  directly  across  the  desert  to 
the  east  and  thus  shorten  the  journey,  but  after  traveling 
two  days  without  water  and  being  reduced  to  the  most  des- 
perate straits,  they  returned  to  the  mountains  and  continued 
north,  or  even  northwest,  until  they  reached  their  old  trail 
south  of  the  Battle  Lakes. 

While  passing  the  neighborhood  of  the  lakes  they  fell 
in  with  apparently  the  same  band  of  Indians  with  whom 
they  had  dealt  so  severely  on  the  way  out.  "  All  along  our 
route  from  the  mountains  thus  far,"  says  Leonard,  "  we 
had  seen  a  great  number  of  Indians,  but  now  when  we  had 
reached  the  vicinity  of  the  place  where  we  had  had  the 
skirmish  with  the  savages  when  going  to  the  coast,  they 
appeared  to  rise  in  double  the  numbers  that  they  did  at  that 
time,  and  as  we  were  then  compelled  to  fight  them,  we  saw 
by  their  movements  now  that  this  would  be  the  only  course 
to  pursue.  We  had  used  every  endeavor  that  we  could  think 
of  to  reconcile  and  make  them  friendly  but  all  to  no  purpose. 
We  had  given  them  one  present  after  another,  made  them 


SECOND    MASSACRE    OF    DIGGER    INDIANS.  419 

all  the  strongest  manifestations  of  a  desire  for  peace  on  our 
part,  by  promising  to  do  battle  against  their  enemies,  if 
required,  and  we  found  that  our  own  safety  and  comfort 
demanded  that  they  should  be  severely  chastised  for  pro- 
voking us  to  such  a  measure.  Now  that  we  were  a  good 
deal  aggravated  some  of  our  men  said  hard  things  about 
what  they  would  do  if  we  should  again  come  in  contact  with 
these  provoking  Indians;  and  our  Captain  was  afraid  that, 
if  once  engaged,  the  passions  of  his  men  would  become  so 
wild  that  he  could  not  call  them  off  while  there  was  an 
Indian  left  to  be  slaughtered. 

"  Being  thus  compelled  to  fight,  as  we  thought,  in  a  good 
cause  and  in  self-defense,  we  drew  up  in  battle  array  and 
fell  on  the  Indians  in  the  wildest  and  most  ferocious  man- 
ner we  could,  which  struck  dismay  throughout  the  whole 
crowd,  killing  fourteen,  besides  wounding  a  great  many 
more,  as  we  rode  right  over  them.  Our  men  were  soon 
called  off,  only  three  of  whom  were  slightly  wounded. 

"  This  decisive  stroke  appeared  to  give  the  Indians  every 
satisfaction  they  desired,  as  we  were  afterwards  permitted 
to  pass  through  their  country  without  molestation." 

The  party  retraced  their  route  along  the  Humboldt,  but 
instead  of  passing  over  to  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  went  north 
to  the  Snake  river  and  thence  made  their  way  to  the 
appointed  rendezvous  on  Bear  river,  where  they  arrived 
about  June  ist.  It  was  not  until  the  20th  of  the  month  that 
Captain  Bonneville  put  in  an  appearance.^ 

The  Walker  California  Expedition  was  a  great  disap- 
pointment to  Bonneville,  and  he  has  attributed  its  failure  to 

'Joseph  Meek  (see  Mrs.  Victor's  River  of  the  West)  says  that  the 
party  after  leaving  southern  CaHfornia  crossed  to  the  Colorado  of  the 
West,  and  in  the  country  to  the  east  of  that  stream  fell  in  with  the 
party  of  Henry  Fraeb  whose  regular  hunting  ground  was  in  the  Col- 
orado mountains.  The  united  parties  wandered  over  a  great  deal  of 
country,  including  the  valley  of  the  Gila  and  North  and  Middle  Parks  of 
Colorado,  winding  up  at  the  Green  river  rendezvous  of  1834.  If  this 
prodigious  journey  were  actually  taken,  and  it  may  have  been,  it  was 
only  by  a  detachment  of  Walker's  party  and  probably  included  none 
of  Bonneville's  men. 


420  EXPLANATION    OF    THE    MASSACRES. 

a  disobedience  of  orders.  In  this  he  was  not  only  unjust, 
but  actually  misrepresented  the  affair.  The  evidence  is 
overwhelming  that  the  expedition  left  Green  river  with  the 
full  and  primary  expectation  of  going  to  the  Pacific.  Had 
they  come  back  successful,  so  far  as  their  hunt  was  con- 
cernjed,  and  had  they  not  sullied  the  expedition  with  such 
revolting  barbarity  toward  the  Indians,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  Captain  Bonneville  would  have  been  entirely  satisfied. 
Concerning  the  slaughter  of  so  many  of  the  Indians,  a 
partial  explanation  has  already  been  given.  These  Indians 
were  of  a  harmless,  destitute  character,  but  no  doubt  very 
troublesome,  as  most  Indians  are,  from  their  thieving  pro- 
pensities. Being  little  qualified  for  active  resistance  the 
trappers  were  more  careless  of  their  treatment  of  them,  and 
some  of  the  more  reckless  ones  punished  the  thieves  with 
vSummary  death.  Later  when  such  great  numbers  sur- 
rounded them  on  the  shores  of  Humboldt  Lake,  they  natu- 
rally surmised  that  revenge  was  their  purpose,  and  this  led 
to  the  killing  of  so  many  at  this  point.  On  their  return  the 
following  year,  they  of  course  had  still  more  reason  to  fear 
a  spirit  of  revenge,  and  so  they  again  sought  safety  by  a 
desperate  blow  which  should  strike  terror  into  the  Indians. 
Their  plan  for  getting  rid  of  their  troublesome  guests  was 
certainly  most  successful,  but  the  blood  of  these  fifty  or  more 
Indians  will  always  remain  a  blot  upon  the  record  of  this 
otherwise  romantic  expedition.  ^*^ 

That  portion  of  the  route  to  which  most  interest  attaches, 
from  a  geographical  point  of  view,  lies  beyond  the  Hum- 
boldt Lakes.  To  the  eastward  the  course  of  the  Humboldt 
river  marks  the  line  of  their  journey.  But  just  where  it 
passed  over  the  Sierras  is  a  matter  of  speculation.  It  may 
be  inferred  from  the  similarity  of  description  to  natural  fea- 
tures, that  the  party  came  down  from  the  mountains  on  the 
head  of  Merced  river,  California.  That  they  entered  the 
Sierras  to  the  southwest  of  the  Humboldt  Lakes  seems 

"  Zenas  Leonard's  further  service  in  the  Indian  country  was  mainly 
among  the  Crows.  He  left  for  the  East  with  Bonneville  in  1835. 


Bonneville's  fall  hunt  of   1833.  421 

almost  certain  from  the  fact  that  on  their  return  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  along  the  east  slope  of  the  mountains  they 
joined  the  last  year's  trail  some  days  before  they  reached  the 
lakes.  This  they  could  not  have  done  if  the  trail  had  led 
directly  west  or  northwest  from  the  lake.  The  neighbor- 
hood of  Sonora  Pass  seems  as  likely  as  any  to  have  been  the 
approximate  point  of  passage. 

The  expedition  is  of  interest  as  being  the  second  Ameri- 
can trapping  expedition  that  made  its  way  from  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Great  Salt  Lake  to  California.  Jedediah  S. 
Smith  had  already  made  the  trip  across  the  Sierras,  probably 
a  little  to  the  south  of  the  point  where  Walker  crossed  it. 

Returning  to  Captain  Bonneville  we  find  that  he  left  the 
Green  river  rendezvous  of  1833  on  July  25th,  with  his  full 
party,  and  traveled  by  way  of  South  Pass,  the  headwaters  of 
the  Sweetwater,  and  the  Popo  Agie  to  the  Bighorn  river. 
Campbell's  party  joined  him  near  the  head  of  the  Bighorn. 
Fitzpatrick  was  with  Campbell  and  was  looking  for  a  place 
for  his  fall  hunt.  Captain  Stuart,  of  the  British  army,  and 
Nathaniel  J,  Wyeth,  of  Boston,  were  also  with  him.  Cap- 
tain Bonnevflle,  fearing  that  Fitzpatrick  intended  to  fore- 
stall him  in  the  approaching  hunt,  secretly  detached  a  small 
trapping  party  and  fixed  a  place  for  their  rendezvous  late  in 
August,  in  the  Medicine  Lodge  valley.  A  second  party  was 
likewise  detached  at  the  second  canon  of  the  Bighorn. 
When  the  point  was  reached  where  the  various  parties  who 
were  going  to  St.  Louis  were  to  embark,  all  set  to  work  on 
the  construction  of  bullboats.  Upon  their  completion  Wyeth 
and  Milton  Sublette  put  off  together ;  Campbell  took  charge 
of  his  own  boats ;  and  Cerre  with  thirty-six  men  and  three 
boats  conveyed  the  property  of  Captain  Bonneville. 

The  Captain  on  the  17th  of  August  set  out  for  his  ren- 
dezvous on  the  Medicine  Lodge.  Here  he  met  the  two 
detached  parties  who  came  in  on  the  2gth,  each  with  a  tale 
of  misfortune  to  relate.  They  had  both  fallen  in  with 
marauding  parties  of  Indians  and  had  lost  a  goodly  number 
of  horses  and  traps.     As  the  neighborhood  in  which  the 


4^22  ABANDONS    THE    CROW    COUNTRY. 

Captain  then  was  seemed  to  be  infested  with  Indians,  he 
broke  camp  on  the  ist  of  September  and  went  over  into  the 
Wind  river  valley.  Here  he  left  his  party,  while  he  with 
three  men  went  to  get  some  needed  articles,  particularly 
traps,  from  the  Green  river  caches.  The  Captain  undertook 
to  ascend  Wind  river  and  cross  the  range  directly  into  the 
Green  river  valley.  But  he  evidently  struck  into  the  moun- 
tains before  he  arrived  near  the  head  of  the  river,  and  he 
soon  found  himself  in  that  entanglement  of  mountain  peaks, 
snow  drifts  and  impassable  chasms  where  the  principal 
source  of  Green  river  is  to  be  found,  and  he  was  utterly 
baffled  in  his  attempts  to  get  through.  Forced  to  beat  a 
retreat,  he  swung  around  to  the  southwest,  rounded  the 
Wind  river  range  by  way  of  South  Pass,  and  arrived  at  the 
old  place  of  rendezvous  on  the  17th  of  September. 

The  Captain  immediately  set  out  on  his  return  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  and  having  good  reason  to  believe  that  his 
little  party  was  being  shadowed  by  a  band  of  Blackfeet,  he 
moved  with  the  greatest  celerity  and  circumspection.  His 
route  lay  north  across  what  is  now  Union  Pass,  and  he 
rejoined  his  party  in  the  Wind  river  valley  on  the  24th. 
The  Captain  found  that  the  footsteps  of  his  parties  in  the 
Wind  river  valley  had  been  persistently  dogged  by  a  band 
of  Crows  who  made  no  effort  to  commit  violence,  but  were 
evidently  bent  on  robbery  whenever  opportunity  should 
offer.  The  truth  is  that  the  emissaries  of  Kenneth  McKen- 
zie  were  everywhere  present  in  the  Crow  country  this  fall. 
They  succeeded  in  getting  the  Crows  to  rob  Fitzpatrick  of 
all  he  possessed,  and  they  were  trying  to  do  the  same  thing 
with  Captain  Bonneville.  The  Captain  concluded  that  the 
Crow  country  was  no  place  for  him  at  that  time,  and  so  he 
pulled  up  stakes  and  started  for  Green  river.  Moving  by 
way  of  South  Pass  he  arrived  at  the  caches  on  the  14th  of 
October. 

Having  raised  his  caches  the  Captain  proceeded  down  the 
valley  on  the  west  side  of  Green  river  and  arrived  at  Ham's 
Fork  on  the  26th  of  October.     He  then  passed  over  to  the 


FIRST    TRIP    TO    THE    COLUMBIA.  423 

Bear  river  valley  and  reached  the  outlet  of  Bear  lake  on  the 
6th  of  November.  On  the  loth  he  visited  the  celebrated 
Beer  Springs,  as  they  were  then  called,  or  the  Soda  Springs 
of  the  present  day.  With  three  men  he  now  took  temporary 
leave  of  his  party,  appointing  a  place  of  rendezvous  on 
Snake  river,  and  set  out  on  the  nth  of  November  in  quest 
of  the  fur  trappers  whom  he  had  detached  under  Hodgkiss  in 
the  previous  spring.  Without  notable  incident,  except  the 
meeting  of  a  band  of  friendly  Bannocks,  he  found  the  trap- 
pers on  the  20th  of  November,  ensconced  in  the  bosom  of  a 
mountain  valley.  The  united  party  now  returned  to  Snake 
river,  where  they  met  the  party  which  had  been  left  on  Bear 
river.  As  this  was  the  4th  of  December  immediate  prep- 
arations were  made  to  go  into  winter  quarters  in  the  valley 
of  the  Portneuf  river. 

Having  completed  his  arrangements  for  a  winter  camp, 
and  being  satisfied  that  he  was  in  a  neighborhood  of  friendly 
Indians,  Captain  Bonneville  determined  to  leave  his  people 
to  their  own  devices  during  the  winter,  while  he,  with  a  few 
men,  would  make  an  exploring  tour  to  the  Columbia  to  study 
the  trade  prospects  in  that  direction  and  would  return  the 
following  March.  Accordingly  he  set  out  with  three  men 
Christmas  morning,  1833.  Their  route  lay  down  the  left 
bank  of  the  Snake,  generally  at  some  little  distance  back 
from  the  river.  On  the  12th  of  January  they  arrived  at 
Powder  river,  Oregon,  and  here  would  better  have  attempted 
to  cross  straight  to  the  Columbia,  as  Hunt  and  the  Astorians 
had  done  twenty-three  years  before.  But  instead  they  toiled 
over  the  mountains  through  which  the  Snake  cuts  its  way, 
and  after  great  hardship  and  peril,  and  many  interesting 
encounters  with  the  local  tribes,  they  reached  the  Hudson 
Bay  post  on  the  Columbia,  near  the  mouth  of  Walla  Walla 
river,  March  4,  1834. 

The  Captain  had  been  encouraged,  while  sojourning 
among  the  Snake  river  tribes,  to  believe  that  there  was  a 
good  opening  for  American  trade  on  the  Columbia.  The 
Indians  received  him  well  and  he  determined  to  make  the 


424  RENDEZVOUS    IN    BEAR    RIVER    VALLEY. 

attempt.  But  his  experience  at  Fort  Walla  Walla  was  far 
less  encouraging.  Although  his  reception  was  most  hos- 
pitable, yet  when  he  came  to  ask  for  supplies  he  was  given 
to  understand  that  it  was  contrary  to  the  policy  of  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company  to  outfit  competing  traders  in  any  way. 
As  the  Captain  was  wholly  without  supplies,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  relinquish  instantly  his  plan  of  descending  the 
Columbia,  and  to  beat  a  precipitate  retreat  from  the  country. 
He  was  so  much  piqued  at  this  action  of  Mr.  Pambrun.  the 
Hudson  Bay  factor,  that  he  declined  to  accompany  a  party 
under  one  of  the  British  traders,  a  Mr.  Payette,  who  was 
going  by  a  safe  route  across  the  mountains  to  convey  pro- 
visions to  some  of  their  trappers  in  the  upper  Snake  valley. 
The  Captain  and  party  set  off  by  themselves  on  the  6th  of 
March  and  made  their  way  with  much  difficulty  across  the 
Blue  mountains.  They  reached  the  winter  camp  on  the 
Portneuf  on  the  12th  of  May.  It  was  not,  however,  until 
the  I  St  of  June  that  the  whole  party  was  reunited. 

Two  days  were  given  up  to  general  festivities  when  the 
party  set  out  for  the  rendezvous  in  Bear  river  valley  which 
was  fixed  at  a  point  near  where  the  river  crosses  the  present 
state  line  between  Wyoming  and  Utah.  They  reached  the 
rendezvous  without  any  other  incident  than  a  harmless 
encounter  with  the  Blackfeet  and  an  hilarious  dissipation  at 
the  Soda  Springs.  They  found  Walker  and  his  California 
party  already  waiting  for  them. 

Soon  after  their  arrival,  Cerre  came  in  from  the  States 
with  the  annual  supplies.  The  customary  carousal  ensued 
and  several  days  were  given  up  to  a  good  time.  Walker's 
party  were  the  heroes  of  the  occasion.  Their  long  and  peril- 
ous journey  across  the  mountains,  their  fights  with  the 
Indians,  their  glorious  winter  in  the  sunny  clime  of  the 
Pacific,  captivated  the  imaginations  of  the  trappers  and  the 
whole  company  would  instantly  have  joined  any  party 
bound  for  that  far  off  country.  Very  different  were  the  feel- 
ings of  Captain  Bonneville.  If  the  returns  of  his  first 
year's  work  in  the  mountains  had  been  insufficient  to  pay 


FAILURE    OF    SECOND    YEAR's    WORK,  425 

expenses,  those  of  the  second  year  were  such  as  to  threaten 
instant  collapse  of  the  enterprise.  His  own  parties  had  done 
but  little,  while  Walker,  on  whom  he  had  chiefly  relied, 
came  back  empty-handed.  He  thus  found  himself  with  only 
ten  to  fifteen  packs  of  beaver  to  send  back  to  the  States  — 
not  nearly  enough  to  pay  the  wages  of  his  men.^^ 

In  spite  of  the  gloomy  prospect  Captain  Bonneville  de- 
cided to  try  another  year  in  the  mountains.  Walker  and 
Cerre  were  dispatched  to  the  States  with  the  slender  returns 
of  the  year.  A  party  was  sent  to  the  Crow  country  under 
one  Montero  to  make  the  fall  hunt  in  that  section  and  east- 
ward to  the  Black  Hills,  when  they  were  to  go  to  the 
Arkansas  for  the  winter.  The  Captain  himself  had  resolved 
upon  another  expedition  to  the  Columbia. 

Captain  Bonneville  took  up  his  march  on  the  3rd  of  July  '  <j«^ 
with  a  party  of  twenty-three  men.  On  the  loth  he  met  a 
company  of  Hudson  Bay  trappers  and  succeeded  with  alco- 
hol and  honey  in  making  the  leader  ingloriously  drunk.  He 
here  learned  that  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth  had  returned  from 
the  States  and  was  bound  for  the  Columbia  to  establish  a 
business  there.  The  Captain,  not  wishing  to  have  a  rival 
band  along  with  him,  made  haste  to  cache  his  goods  and 
get  away;  but  unforeseen  delays  detained  him  until  Wyeth 
came  up.  After  another  series  of  hospitalities  and  a  general 
bufifalo  hunt,  the  Captain  finally  got  off  and  wended  his 
course  down  the  Snake  river,  leaving  Mr.  Wyeth  to  build 
a  post  which  he  proposed  to  establish  on  the  Portneuf. 
Nothing  worthy  of  note  occurred  on  the  trip  except  the 
dangers  caused  by  an  extensive  conflagration  which  envel- 

""The  latter  [Bonneville  &  Co.]  I  think  by  next  year  will  be  at 
an  end  with  the  mountains.  They  have  sent  down  from  twelve  to  four- 
teen packs  of  beaver,  and  admitting  that  it  should  sell  at  a  high  price,  it 
is  not  enough  to  pay  their  returning  hands."  Fontenelle  to  Chou- 
teau September  17,  1834. 

"At  the  camp  [on  Twin  Creek  about  17  miles  east  of  Bear  river] 
■we  found  Mr.  Cerry  and  Mr.  Walker  who  were  returning  to  St.  Louis 
■with  the  furs  collected  by  Mr.  Bonneville's  company,  about  10  packs, 
and  men  going  down  to  whom  there  is  due  $10,000."  Wyeth  —  Sources 
of  the  History  of  Oregon,  p.  225. 


426  SECOND    TRIP    TO    THE    COLUMBIA. 

oped  the  entire  country  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Grande 
Ronde.  When  the  Captain  arrived  within  thirty  miles  of 
Fort  Walla  Walla  he  thought  to  repeat  his  experiment  of 
the  winter  before  by  sending  a  party  to  the  post  in  quest  of 
provisions.  This  second  attempt  was  no  more  successful 
than  the  first,  and  as  the  Captain's  party  were  well  nigh  out 
of  provisions  it  was  necessary  to  bestir  themselves  with 
vigor.  They  reached  the  Columbia  about  fifty  miles  below 
the  Walla  Walla  and  started  down  stream,  but  found  that 
the  influence  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  was  everywhere 
supreme,  and  that  they  were  liable  to  be  literally  starved  out 
of  the  country.  His  various  delays  among  the  Indian  tribes 
had  now  brought  him  so  well  along  in  the  season  that  he 
must  adopt  the  most  energetic  measures  or  winter  would 
hem  him  in  within  an  enemy's  land  and  leave  him  at  their 
mercy. 

Making  a  virtue  of  necessity  he  set  his  face  toward  the 
east  and  on  the  ist  of  October  arrived  at  the  base  of  the  Blue 
mountains.  Recent  rains  had  extinguished  the  summer  fires 
but  there  was  so  little  game  that  the  hunters  could  scarcely 
provide  for  the  company.  An  untoward  accident  caused 
them  to  lose  their  way  and  spend  three  days  buffeting  around 
among  the  mountains,  and  it  was  not  until  the  30th  of  Octo- 
ber that  they  arrived  at  the  Snake  river.  When  they 
reached  the  Portneuf  they  met  two  messengers  from  Mon- 
tero's  party  who  had  come  for  additional  supplies  and  to  let 
the  Captain  know  that  they  would  spend  the  winter  in  the 
Crow  country  instead  of  going  to  the  Arkansas,  and  would 
join  him  in  the  spring  wherever  he  might  appoint.  The 
Captain  took  the  messengers  along  with  him  to  the  caches 
on  Bear  river,  where  they  arrived  on  the  1 7th  of  November, 
gave  them  the  necessary  articles,  and  sent  them  on  their  way 
with  orders  to  meet  him  at  the  forks  of  Wind  river  in  the 
latter  part  of  June  following.  The  Captain  himself  spent 
the  winter  in  the  upper  end  of  Bear  river  valley.  Buffalo 
were  plenty  and  abundance  reigned  in  camp,  and  with  the 
interesting  society  of  Indian  bands  and  the  occasional  visit 


THE    MOUNTAINS    CLEAR    OF    HIM.  427 

of  some  white  trappers,   the  winter  wore  away  in  ideal 
hunter's  fashion. 

When  spring  opened  the  Captain  collected  all  his  property 
in  Bear  river  valley,  and  on  the  ist  of  April,  1835,  proceeded 
by  way  of  Ham's  Fork  to  the  valley  of  Green  river.  Just 
where  he  went  during  the  spring  is  not  certain,  but  the  loth 
of  June  found  him  "  a  little  to  the  east  of  the  Wind  river 
mountains."  He  reached  the  place  of  rendezvous  at  the 
forks  of  Wind  river  about  the  22nd  of  June.  A  few  days 
later  Montero  joined  him  after  a  fairly  successful  campaign 
and  at  this  place  the  united  parties  celebrated  the  4th  of  July. 
Montero  was  then  detached  to  continue  his  operations  in 
the  Crow  country,  while  the  Captain  himself,  with  the  rest  of 
his  party,  set  out  for  the  settlements.  He  arrived  there 
on  the  22nd  of  August,  1835,  and  the  mountains  at  last,  in 
the  words  of  Fontenelle,  "  were  clear  of  him."^^ 

"  Bonneville's  leave  of  absence  having  long  expired  before  his  return, 
he  had  been  dropped  from  the  rolls  of  the  army.  There  was  a  very 
proper  opposition  among  army  officers  to  his  reinstatement,  and  he 
would  have  been  excluded  altogether  but  for  President  Jackson,  who 
reinstated  him  as  a  reward  for  his  contributions  to  geographical  knowl- 
edge of  the  country.  In  his  subsequent  career  Bonneville  served  at 
various  posts  on  the  frontier,  at  Carlisle,  Pa.,  and  in  the  Seminole 
and  Mexican  Wars,  being  wounded  in  the  latter.  He  remained  loyal 
to  the  Union  during  the  Civil  War  although  his  sympathies  were  on 
the  other  side.  He  was  made  Brevet  Brigadier  General  but  reached  no 
more  important  command  than  that  of  Benton  Barracks  at  St.  Louis 
where  he  remained  most  of  the  time  during  the  war.  After  peace  came 
he  retired  from  the  service  and  took  up  his  home  at  Fort  Smith  where 
he  had  previously  formed  close  attachments.  He  died  at  Fort  Smith 
June  12,  1878,  and  was  buried  in  Bellefontaine  Cemetery,  St.  Louis. 
Bonneville  was  married  at  Carlisle  Barracks  to  Miss  Ann  Lewis. 
While  stationed  at  St.  Louis  both  his  wife  and  daughter  died.  He  was 
married  again  in  1870  to  Miss  Susan  Neis  of  Fort  Smith  who  survived 
him. 

Bonneville  had  a  brother  in  the  American  Navy  who  gained  some 
distinction  and  was  lost  with  the  American  ship  Wasp. 

"Bonneville,  Benjamin  L.  E.  (Born  in  France.  Appointed  from 
N.  Y.)  Bvt.  2nd  Lieut.  Light  Art.,  11  Dec,  1815.  2nd  Lieut.,  15  Jan., 
1817.  2nd  Lieut.  8th  Inf.,  10  March,  1819.  ist  Lieut.,  9  July,  1820. 
Trans,  to  7th  Inf.,  i  June,  1821.     Dropped  31  May,  1834.     Reinstated  19 


428  •  BUSINESS    FAILURE. 

Captain  Bonneville's  enterprise  in  the  Rocky  mountains 
was  primarily,  if  not  solely,  for  purposes  of  trade,  whatever 
may  have  been  the  purposes  set  forth  in  his  application 
for  a  leave  of  absence.  There  is  nothing  in  the  whole  his- 
tory of  the  expedition  to  justify  any  other  view.  The  Cap- 
tain in  his  service  on  the  frontier  had  been  an  eye-witness 
of  the  various  aspects  of  the  fur  trade  and  had  conceived 
a  desire  to  try  his  own  hand  at  it.  He  could  not  of  course 
ask  so  long  a  leave  of  absence  solely  to  enable  him  to  prose- 
cute a  private  business,  and  he  proposed  to  the  government 
to  turn  his  opportunities  to  valuable  account  in  collecting  in- 
formation which  would  be  of  public  utility.  On  this  repre- 
sentation a  leave  of  absence  for  two  years  was  granted. 
The  ground  on  which  the  government  gave  the  leave,  and 
the  real  purpose  to  which  Captain  Bonneville  proposed  to 
apply  it,  were  therefore  quite  different.  Let  us  see  what  he 
accomplished  in  both  directions. 

As  to  the  commercial  feature  of  the  enterprise  the  result 
was  an  unqualified  failure.  Irving  is  generously  silent  on 
this  subject  but  one  may  easily  discern  between  the  lines  the 
author's  conviction  that  the  Captain  had  no  aptitude  as  a 
trader.  He  was  not  trained  to  business,  particularly  the 
kind  of  business  that  was  transacted  in  the  mountains,  and 
in  his  contacts  with  rival  traders  he  was  invariably  worsted. 
He  was  unduly  afraid  of  the  Indians,  was  unwilling  to  take 
risks,  and  doubtless  also  held  himself  above  the  baser  meth- 
ods resorted  to  by  irresponsible  traders.  He  was  lavish  in 
his  hospitality,  popular  with  his  men,  and  a  great  favorite 
with  the  free  trappers  who  would  travel  hundreds  of  miles 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  cheer  of  the  Captain's  tent.  The 
Indians  too  liked  him,  but  all  —  Indians  and  trappers  alike 
—  sold  their  furs  in  the  other  camp.     The  Captain  hung  on 

April,  1836.  Maj.  6th  Inf.,  15  July,  1845.  Lieut.  Col.,  4th  Inf.,  7  May, 
1849.  Col.  3rd  Inf.,  3  Feb.,  1855.  Retired  9th  Sept.,  1861.  Died  12 
June,  1878.  Bvt.  Lieut.  Col.,  20  Aug.,  1847,  for  gallant  and  meritorious 
service  at  Contreras  and  Churubu.sco.  Bvt.  Brig.  Gen.,  13  March,  1865^ 
for  long  and  faithful  service  in  the  army." — Powell's  List  of  Officers 
of  the  U.  S.  Army. 


SCIENTIFIC    ACCOMPLISHMENT    NOTHING.  429 

for  three  years  and  probably  would  longer  had  his  company 
been  willing.  The  final  outcome  must  have  been  a  loss  to 
them  of  many  thousands  of  dollars. 

The  scientific  feature  of  Captain  Bonneville's  expedition 
was,  if  possible,  more  of  a  failure  than  the  commercial.  The 
Captain  never  made  any  report  of  his  work  to  the  Depart- 
ment and  it  is  probable  that  he  had  nothing  of  value  to  re- 
port. His  adventures  and  observations  were  written  up  by 
Irving,  and  although  that  work  contains  a  great  deal  of  use- 
ful information,  it  is  evident  that  a  goodly  portion  of  it  was 
derived  from  other  sources  than  from  Captain  Bonneville. 
The  Captain's  notes  upon  the  nature  of  the  country  are  lim- 
ited and  of  no  great  value.  His  few  astronomical  observa- 
tions for  latitude  and  longitude  are  little  better  than  wild 
guesses. ^^  Irving  felt  constrained  to  apologize  for  his  fan- 
tastic views  of  Great  Salt  Lake,  and  he  would  have  felt  more 
so  if  he  had  known  that  the  Captain's  estimate  of  the  altitude 
of  that  body  of  water  above  the  level  of  the  ocean  (one  and 
three-fourths  miles)  was  considerably  more  than  twice  the 
correct  figure.  Touching  the  Indian  tribes  scarcely  any  in- 
formation is  given  by  Irving  which  is  in  line  with  the  in- 
structions of  the  War  Department  to  Captain  Bonneville. 

The  one  really  valuable  result  of  Captain  Bonneville's 
expedition,  so  far  as  he  alone  is  concerned,  was  his  two  maps 
of  the  Western  country.  One  of  these  is  of  the  region  about 
the  sources  of  the  Missouri,  Yellowstone,  Snake,  Green, 
Wind  and  Sweetwater  rivers,  including  the  region  of  Great 
Salt  Lake.  The  other,  on  half  the  scale,  included  the  coun- 
try westward  from  the  region  embraced  in  the  first  map,  to 
the  Pacific  ocean. 

These  maps  have  won  for  Captain  Bonneville  a  degree  of 
credit  for  promoting  geographical  discovery  to  which  he  is 
in  no  sense  entitled.  Nearly  all  of  the  valuable  features 
appeared  on  Gallatin's  map  of  the  year  before  and  were  fur- 
ther brought  to  public  notice  by  Gallatin's  memoir  accom- 

"  Longitude  of  Fort  Bonneville  125  miles  too  far  east. 

Latitude  of  winter  quarters  on  Salmon  river  50  miles  too  far  north. 


430  BONNEVILLE  S    MAPS. 

panying  the  map.  The  three  most  important  additions  to 
geographical  knowledge  which  must  be  credited  to  the  Bon- 
neville maps  are  the  discovery  and  location  of  Humboldt 
river  and  lakes,  the  location  of  the  San  Joaquin  river,  Cali- 
fornia, and  the  approximately  correct  topography  of  the 
country  around  the  sources  of  the  Bighorn  and  Green  rivers. 
In  several  respects  Gallatin's  map  is  more  correct  than  Bon- 
neville's. Gallatin's  map  unfortunately  appeared  in  the 
transactions  of  a  scientific  society  and  came  to  the  knowledge 
of  only  a  select  few.  Bonneville's  maps  on  the  other  hand 
had  the  name  and  fame  of  Washington  Irving  to  advertise 
them  to  the  world.  Bonneville  refers  in  no  way  to  his  debt 
to  Gallatin  or  to  Ashley  and  Smith,  although  it  is  evident 
that  several  important  features  were  taken  directly  from 
these  authorities.^"*  It  was  these  maps,  compiled  in  large 
part  from  data  derived  from  Gallatin,  Ashley  and  Smith, 
that  won  for  Bonneville  his  reinstatement  in  the  army. 
"By  the  Eternal,  Sir!"  President  Jackson  is  said  to  have 
exclaimed  when  Bonneville  showed  him  his  map,  "  I'll  see 
that  you  are  reinstated  to  your  command.  For  this  valuable 
service  to  the  War  Department  and  the  country  you  deserve 
high  promotion."  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  in  direct 
and  substantial  reward,  as  well  in  public  reputation.  Captain 
Bonneville  has  received  from  his  government  and  from  his 
countrymen  more  than  he  deserves.  ^^ 

"  It  is  unaccountable  that  so  careful  a  student  as  General  G.  K.  War- 
ren, who  was  directed  by  the  War  Department  "  to  carefully  read  every 
report  and  examine  every  map  of  survey,  reconnaissance  and  travel 
that  could  be  obtained,"  and  who,  in  fulfillment  of  this  duty,  pro- 
duced a  map  and  memoir  which  have  become  a  landmark  in  the  history 
of  western  geography,  should  have  overlooked  altogether  the  important 
work  of  Albert  Gallatin.  He  could  not  have  seen  it  or  he  would  not 
have  given  Captain  Bonneville  the  credit  for  so  much  of  the  information 
which  it  contains. 

'"Captain  Bonneville  gave  his  name  to  Great  Salt  Lake  —  an  arro- 
gant presumption  when  we  consider  the  utter  lack  of  any  connection 
which  his  work  had  with  that  body  of  water.  Posterity  has  very  proper- 
ly refused  to  recognize  the  name,  although  science  has  made  use  of  it  to 
designate  the  old  Quaternary  lake  which  once  occupied  a  large  part  of 
the  Great  Basin. 


Bonneville's  breach  of  discipline.  431 

As  the  manager  of  an  expedition  and  as  a  popular  leader 
Captain  Bonneville  was  a  distinct  success.  Had  his  func- 
tion been  solely  that  of  conducting  a  party  through  the  coun- 
try, he  might  have  rivaled  Lev^is  and  Clark  in  the  skill  v^ith 
which  he  could  accomplish  it.  He  managed  his  men  with 
great  judgment,  and  it  is  no  small  item  to  his  credit  that,  at  a 
period  when  hunters  and  trappers  were  yearly  lost  in  con- 
siderable numbers  from  the  various  companies,  he  remained 
three  years  in  the  mountains  without  the  loss  of  a  single  life, 
where  the  men  were  in  any  wise  under  his  personal  control. 

To  Captain  Bonneville  belongs  the  credit  of  being  the  first 
to  take  wagons  through  South  Pass  and  to  Green  river. 
Ashley  had  taken  a  wheeled  cannon  through  to  Utah  Lake 
in  1826.  Smith,  Jackson  and  Sublette  had  taken  wagons 
to  Wind  river  in  1830;  and  the  Santa  Fe  traders  had  taken 
wagons  to  Santa  Fe  in  1822.  Bonneville's  expedition  was 
another  step  in  the  progress  of  civilization  into  the  unsettled 
regions  of  the  Far  West. 

As  a  soldier  by  education  and  profession,  Captain  Bonne- 
ville committed  an  unpardonable  breach  of  discipline  in  over- 
staying his  leave  of  absence.  It  was  more  than  a  simple 
lapse  of  duty,  it  was  an  act  of  ingratitude  to  his  superiors, 
considering  their  great  indulgence  in  granting  him  so  long 
a  leave.  It  was  moreover  unnecessary.  The  Captain  sent 
in  his  returns  in  1833  in  ample  time  to  have  communicated 
with  Washington  before  his  leave  expired.  If  he  felt  it  im- 
perative to  stay  with  his  expedition  he  should  have  applied 
for  an  extension  of  his  leave.  If  not  he  should  have  reported 
to  the  Department  and  made  his  application  in  person. 
But  he  did  neither  although  he  had  frequent  opportunity  to 
send  communications.  His  action  was  therefore  a  gross 
delinquency  and  the  War  Department  and  Army  authori- 
ties were  quite  right  in  resisting  his  reinstatement  into  the 
service. 

After  all  it  will  not  be  far  wrong  to  say  that  the  greatest 
service  which  Captain  Bonneville  rendered  his  country  was 
by  falling  into  the  hands  of  Washington  Irving.     His  whole 


432  HIS    LUCKIEST    ACCIDENT. 

advancement  hitherto  had  been  largely  due  to  his  fortuitous 
associations,  and  Lafayette  and  Paine  were  the  architects  of 
his  fortune  more  than  he  himself  was.  But  his  luckiest 
accident  was  in  furnishing  the  occasion  for  the  production 
of  Irving's  description  of  Rocky  mountain  life  during  the 
best  days  of  the  fur  trade.  Captain  Bonneville,  as  this 
work  is  now  commonly  called,  is  a  true  and  living  picture  of 
those  early  scenes,  and  taken  with  Astoria  will  ever  re- 
main our  highest  authority  upon  the  events  to  which  they 
relate.  1^ 

^'  In  a  former  chapter  we  paid  our  respects  to  Hubert  Howe  Bancroft 
in  the  matter  of  his  reckless  endeavors  to  discredit  the  work  and 
defame  the  character  of  Washington  Irving.  We  shall  here  call  atten- 
tion to  similar  efforts  in  regard  to  the  narrative  of  Bonneville's  adven- 
tures. Mr.  Bancroft  misstates  the  title  of  this  work,  in  calling  it 
"" Adventures  of  Captain  Bonneville"  whereas,  as  given  by  Irving,  it  was 
The  Rocky  Mountains,  or,  Scenes,  Incidents  and  Adventures  in  the  Far 
West;  digested  front  the  Journal  of  Captain  B.  L.  E.  Bonneville,  of  the 
Army  of  the  United  States,  and  illustrated  from  various  other  sources. 
On  the  exterior  covers  of  the  book  the  name  of  Captain  Bonneville 
did  not  appear  at  all.  This  fact  is  important,  as  illustrating  Irving's 
own  view  of  the  scope  of  the  work.  It  was  virtually  a  history  of 
the  operations  of  the  fur  companies  in  the  Rocky  mountains  during 
that  period  from  1832  to  1835  when  the  trade  was  at  its  prime.  Irving, 
who  never  despised  the  embellishments  of  art,  worked  his  historical 
narrative  around  the  nucleus  of  a  single  adventure  and  gave  it  an  added 
interest  by  that  method.  But  the  repeated  assertions  of  Mr.  Bancroft 
that  it  is  only  "  an  elegant  romance,"  a  "  thrilling  narrative  out  of  noth- 
ing," "  Irving's  fiction,"  "  duplicity,"  and  the  like,  can  proceed  only  from 
sheer  ignorance  or  from  a  knavish  purpose  to  belittle  a  great  work. 

In  the  case  of  Astoria  we  found  Irving  incomparably  the  most 
accurate  historian  of  that  enterprise  —  far  more  so  than  Mr.  Bancroft, 
in  spite  of  the  greater  facilities  afforded  by  modern  research.  The 
same  is  also  true  of  the  later  work.  In  regard  to  Captain  Bonneville, 
it  is  clear  that  Irving  himself  did  not  have  a  high  opinion  of  that  offi- 
cer's performance.  If  his  never-failing  generosity  caused  him  to  smooth 
over  the  short-comings  of  his  hero,  one  can  not  fail  to  discern  a  lack 
of  confidence  in  his  actual  achievements.  Referring  to  the  Great  Salt 
Lake,  for  example,  he  characterizes  the  Captain's  view  of  that  body 
of  water  as  "  somewhat  fanciful,"  and  states  that  "  he  has  evidently 
taken  part  of  his  ideas  concerning  it  from  the  representations  of  others, 
who  have  somewhat  exaggerated  its  features."     Concerning  the  name 


HUBERT    HOWE    BANCROFT    AGAIN.  433 

Lake  Bonneville,  that  was  given  by  Bonneville  himself,  and  Irving 
adopted  it  from  the  Captain's  map.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever 
that  Irving  believed  Bonneville's  statement  in  regard  to  the  Salt  Lake 
expedition,  and  there  would  be  no  conclusive  reason  to  doubt  it  today, 
but  for  the  facts  that  have  come  to  light  through  the  narratives  of  Nidi- 
ver,  Leonard  and  others,  which  were  unknown  to  Irving. 

As  to  Mr.  Bancroft's  infamous  innuendoes  regarding  "  well-paid 
panegyrics  "  as  a  result  of  Irving's  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Astor,  the 
reader  may  note  what  we  have  said  on  this  point  in  our  treatment  of 
Astoria. 

Mr.  Bancroft  thus  refers  to  Irving's^  iiumorous  account  of  Bonneville's 
honey-alcohol  entertainment  on  Bear  river,  July  lo,  1834 :  "  It  is  no- 
ticeable that  whenever  Irving  sets  two  men  drinking,  his  hero  always 
acts  the  gentlem^,  while  the  other,  especially  if  a  foreigner,  gets  beast- 
ly drunk  and  disgraces  himself,"  If  Mr.  Bancroft  will  consult  Town- 
send's  Narrative,  page  84,  he  will  find  that  no  less  an  authority  than 
Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth  was  himself  greatly  struck  with  the  Captain's  ur- 
banity and  politeness  of  manner  in  the  face  of  considerable  provoca- 
tion, and  that  the  unmannerly  behavior  was  exactly  where  Irving  places 
it. 

But  if  Mr.  Bancroft's  treatment  of  Irving  as  an  author  is  base  and 
contemptible,  his  treatment  of  Captain  Bonneville  as  a  man  is  no  less 
so.  Small  as  may  be  our  estimate  of  Bonneville's  work  in  the  Rocky 
mountains,  we  are  bound  to  say  that  there  is  nothing  in  it  all  to  justify 
the  following  vicious  calumny :  "  A  Frenchman  by  birth,  and  a  captaii 
in  the  United  States  Army,  being  in  his  coarse  way  a  ban  vivant  and 
voluptuary,  he  preferred  lording  it  in  the  forest  with  a  troop  of  white 
and  red  savages  at  his  heels,  and  every  fortnight  a  new  unmarried  wife 
flaunting  her  brave  finery,  to  sitting  in  satin  sackcloth  of  conventional 
parlors  and  simpering  silly  nothings.  .  .  .  To  shoot  buffalo  were 
rare  fun;  but  men  were  the  nobler  game,  whom  to  search  out  in  their 
retreat  and  slaughter  and  scalp  were  glorious.  What  were  the  far-off 
natives  of  the  Rocky  mountains  doing,  that  this  reckless,  blood-thirsty 
and  cruel  Frenchman  should  be  permitted  to  kill  them?"  Mr.  Ban- 
croft should  produce  his  facts.  Can  he  give  evidence  of  even  one 
Indian  who  was  killed  or  scalped  or  in  any  way  maltreated  by  Captain 
Bonneville's  order,  or  with  his  knowledge?  If  there  is  one  character- 
istic of  the  expedition  more  prominent  than  another  it  was  the  humane 
treatment  which  Captain  Bonneville  always  accorded  the  natives.  If 
reference  is  made  to  the  Walker  massacre  at  the  Humboldt  Lakes, 
Captain  Bonneville  is  morally  no  more  responsible  for  that  than  Mr. 
Bancroft  himself. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

NATHANIEL  J.  WYETH. 

Hall  J.  Kelley  —  Wyeth's  project — Formation  of  his  party  —  Expe- 
dition at  St.  Louis  —  The  start  from  Independence  —  Arrival  at  Pierre's 
Hole  —  Division  of  the  party  —  Wyeth  leaves  Pierre's  Hole  for  the 
Columbia  —  Arrives  at  Fort  Vancouver  —  Spends  win|er  on  lower  Co- 
lumbia—  Starts  for  the  east  in  spring  of  1833  —  Proposes  a  joint  hunt 
with  Bonneville  —  Arrives  at  Green  river  rendezvous  —  Contract  with 
Milton  G.  Sublette  —  Wyeth  at  Fort  Union  —  Arrival  in  Boston  —  The 
Columbia  River  Fishing  and  Trading  Company  —  Wyeth  starts  on  his 
second  expedition  —  Leaves  Independence  —  M.  G.  Sublette  com- 
pelled to  return  —  Wyeth  reaches  Green  river  —  Fitzpatrick  repudiates 
Wyeth's  contract  with  M.  G.  Sublette  —  Wyeth  meets  Captain  Bonne- 
ville —  Commences  erection  of  Fort  Hall  —  Reaches  Fort  Vancouver 
—  Arrival  of  the  May  Dacre  —  Wyeth's  operations  in  fall  and  winter 
of  1834-5  —  Builds  Fort  Williams  —  111  success  and  ill  health  —  Wyeth 
closes  up  his  business. 

^yUK  history  of  human  progress  shows  that  great  move- 
^^  ments  frequently  receive  their  initial  impulse  from 
the  most  visionary  and  impractical  of  men.  Perhaps  the 
very  quality  of  being  visionary  —  prone  to  see  visions  — 
makes  possible  a  forecast  of  results  which  lack  of  practical 
ability  in  the  individual  could  never  accomplish.  John 
Brown  did  as  much  as  any  man  to  give  direction  to  public 
thought  in  favor  of  the  emancipation  movement  in  the 
United  States,  but  a  man  less  qualified  than  he  to  bring  that 
movement  to  a  successful  issue  could  scarcely  have  been 
found.  So  with  the  vital  question  of  the  Northwest  —  the 
long-disputed  Oregon  Question  —  it  was  preached,  pub- 
lished and  kept  before  the  public  for  many  years  by  a  man 
who  proved  himself  wholly  unfit  to  carry  out  his  own 
schemes.  This  man  was  a  Boston  schoolmaster,  Hall  J. 
Kelley. 


HALL    J.    KELLEY.  435 

Scarcely  had  the  grand  enterprise  of  Mr.  Astor  upon  the 
Columbia  terminated  in  failure  when  Kelley  in  1815  began 
his  crusade.  He  read  everything  that  he  could  find  relating 
to  Oregon,  believed  it  all,  however  extravagant,  and  retailed 
it  to  the  public  with  whatever  addition  his  own  over-wrought 
imagination  might  suggest.  He  published  a  great  deal  in 
current  periodicals,  circulated  broadcast  his  pamphlets  and 
tracts,  and  even  obtained  the  ear  of  Congress  in  behalf  of  the 
Pacific  empire  whose  fate,  as  he  rightly  considered,  was  even 
then  trembling  in  the  balance.  What  he  wrote  was  for  the 
most  part  grossly  inaccurate;  but  with  a  public  quite  as  ig- 
norant as  he,  this  was  no  drawback,  but  rather  a  positive 
advantage.  Everything  came  from  his  pen  clothed  with  the 
beauty  of  a  western  sunset.  The  fertile  lands  that  could  be 
had  for  the  asking,  the  salubrious  climate  of  that  distant 
shore,  the  noble  rivers  with  their  living  wealth  of  salmon, 
and  finally  the  glorious  empire  which  must  be  claimed  before 
it  should  be  too  late,  such  were  the  themes  that  formed  the 
burden  of  his  perfervid  utterances.  The  barren  plains  to  be 
crossed  in  reaching  this  promised  land,  the  savage  foes  to 
be  encountered,  the  perennial  rains  of  the  Pacific,  and  the 
years  of  drudgery  in  winning  a  home  from  the  wilderness  — 
of  these  Kelley  had  nothing  to  say.  His  crusade  was  a  suc- 
cessful one  in  helping  to  turn  men's  minds  to  a  subject  of 
far-reaching  national  importance,  and  in  this  respect  the 
American  people  owe  to  his  memory  a  debt  of  gratitude. 
Although  he  never  achieved  the  distinction  of  martyrdom  In 
the  cause  which  he  so  boldly  and  persistently  championed, 
he  will  stand  in  history  as  the  John  Brown  of  the  movement 
which  saved  to  the  United  States  a  part  of  Its  rightful  do- 
main upon  the  Pacific. 

The  practical  talents  In  which  Kelley  was  deficient,  were 
met  with  in  a  marked  degree  in  one  of  his  townsmen  and  dis- 
ciples, Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth.^     Not  that  Wyeth  was  ultimate- 

^  Nathaniel  Jarvis  Wyeth  was  born  in  Cambridge,  Mass.,  January  29, 
1802.  His  father,  Jacob  Wyeth,  was  a  Harvard  gradute.  His  mother, 
Elizabeth  Jarvis  Wyeth,  was  a  member  of  the  Jarvis  family,  owners  of 


436  CHARACTER    OF    UNDERTAKING. 

ly  any  more  successful  than  Kelley  —  his  schemes,  like  those 
of  Astor,  were  foredoomed  to  failure.  A  mighty  corpora- 
tion with  an  empire  at  its  back  was  more  than  any  individual 
single-handed  could  contend  against.  But  Wyeth  under- 
stood the  essential  conditions  of  ordinary  business  success. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  energy,  sound  judgment,  and  unques- 
tioned integrity,  a  good  organizer,  fearless  of  obstacles,  sin- 
gularly free  from  visionary  projects,  and  on  the  whole  one 
of  the  ablest  men  whom  the  fur  trade  brought  to  public  no- 
tice. His  project  for  establishing  a  trade  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  like  that  of  Astor  before  him,  was  in  itself  eminently 
feasible;  but  the  conditions  were  such  that  without  great 
financial  backing  and  some  support  from  the  government  he 
could  not  get  a  start;  and  unfortunately  he  never  enjoyed 
either  of  these  advantages. 

The  crusade  of  Hall  J.  Kelley  found  a  ready  response  in 
the  sympathetic  and  ambitious  nature  of  Wyeth.  The  more 
he  thought  of  the  subject  the  more  he  came  to  believe  that 
there  was  a  great  opening  for  business  enterprise  on  the  Pa- 
cific. His  views  developed  very  much  on  the  same  lines  as 
those  of  Astor  twenty  years  before,  although  of  necessity 

Jarvis  field,  famous  in  the  annals  of  Harvard  athletics.  Young  Wyeth 
was  fitted  for  college,  but  decided,  much  to  his  regret  in  later  years, 
not  to  take  the  time  to  complete  a  course.  Upon  leaving  school  he 
succeeded  his  father  for  a  short  time  in  the  management  of  a  pleasure 
resort  on  the  borders  of  Fresh  Pond,  but  disliking  the  business,  he  en- 
tered the  employ  of  Frederick  Tudor  who  had  just  originated  the  ice 
industry  of  the  United  States,  including  not  only  the  cutting  and  storing 
of  ice,  but  its  export  to  foreign  countries.  Wyeth  remained  in  the 
business  until  his  western  expedition  took  place,  and  became  general 
manager  of  the  company.  After  his  return  from  the  mountains  in  1836 
he  re-entered  the  business  with  Mr.  Tudor.  In  1840  he  set  up  on  his 
own  account.  He  was  very  assiduous  in  his  work  and  invented  most 
of  the  appliances  which  have  since  been  in  common  use  in  the  ice 
business.  He  was  also  largely  interested  in  other  enterprises  such  as 
brick-making,  nurseries,  etc.  He  died  August  31,  1856,  on  the  spot 
where  he  was  born  and  which  had  been  his  life-long  home. 

The  data  for  this  note  v/ere  furnished  by  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Fish,  of  Taun- 
ton, Mass.,  a  niece  of  Wyeth. 


DETAILS    OF    PROJECT.  437 

Upon  a  much  more  modest  scale.  His  project,  as  it  finally 
assumed  definite  form,  was  in  brief  to  organize  a  trading 
company  to  do  business  in  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  and 
its  tributaries.  It  is  generally  understood  to  have  been  con- 
ceived with  a  view  of  developing  the  salmon  trade,  but  this 
was  not  the  case  with  the  first  expedition.  The  specific 
character  of  the  trade  was  left  undetermined,  "  without  pos- 
itively settling  the,  particular  business  "  to  be  followed,  as 
Wyeth  frequently  wrote  in  reply  to-  inquiries.  Again  he 
said :  "  The  company  go  out  for  trade  in  such  branches 
as  may  be  expedient" ;  but  he  adds  that  "  probably  the  fur 
business  will  be  selected."  His  plan  was  to  supply  his  par- 
ties in  the  field,  and  ship  his  products  to  market,  by  ocean 
vessels  sailing  to  and  from  the  Columbia.  He  believed  that 
he  could  reach  the  whole  tramontane  country  in  that  way 
more  cheaply  than  overland  from  St.  Louis  and  he  therefore 
hoped  to  get  the  carrying  trade  of  other  parties  doing  busi- 
ness there.  One  cannot  fail  to  observe  the  similarity  in  gen- 
eral outline  between  Wyeth's  idea  and  that  of  Astor  before 
him;  but  it  was  probably  independently  worked  out  by 
Wyeth,  for  he  rarely  if  ever  refers  in  his  letters  to  Astor's  ex- 
periences either  by  way  of  warning  or  guidance. 

The  first  expedition  was  planned  to  include  about  fifty 
persons  among  whom  there  should  be  "  no  families  or  other 
helpless  people."  The  nature  of  the  compact  which  was  to 
bind  the  little  company  together  is  thus  stated  by  Wyeth 
himself:  "  Our  company  is  to  last  five  years.  The  profits 
are  to  be  divided  in  such  a  manner  that  if  the  number  con- 
cerned is  fifty,  and  the  whole  net  profits  were  divided  into 
that  number  of  parts,  I  should  get  eight,  the  surgeon  two, 
and  the  remaining  forty  parts  would  be  divided  among  the 
remaining  forty-eight  persons.  The  eight  parts  which  I 
take  is  consideration  for  my  service  as  head  of  the  concern 
and  furnishing  the  requisite  capital  and  credit  for  the  bus- 
iness, and  which  is  to  be  Invested  in  goods  to  a  small  amount, 
to  take  with  us  by  land,  camp  equipage,  horses,  wagons,  etc., 
and  in  vessels  and  goods  to  be  sent  out  to  us,  so  as  to  arrive 


438  WYETH    CUTS    LOOSE    FROM    KELLEY. 

there  within  a  few  months  afterward.  Each  man  will  be 
required  to  furnish  his  own  equipment  and  pay  his  passage 
as  far  as  FrankHn,  Missouri,  which  will  amount  to  forty- 
dollars,  and  the  surplus  to  be  paid  for  him  from  the  capital 
if  it  amounts  to  more."  ^ 

Wyeth  at  first  contemplated  joining-  fortunes  with  Hall 
J.  Kelley  who  was  at  this  time  actively  engaged  in  organiz- 
ing his  Oregon  Colonization  Society.  He  always  acknowl- 
edged his  debt  to  Kelley  in  turning  his  thoughts  to  the  dis- 
tant regions  of  the  Columbia;  but  he  found,  as  soon  as  he 
seriously  concluded  to  go  to  that  country,  that  the  disciple 
would  have  to  cut  loose  from  the  master  if  he  were  to  accom- 
plish anything.  His  quick  judgment  told  him  that  the 
schoolmaster's  visionary  ideas  would  bring  disaster  to  the 
whole  enterprise.  Some  of  his  letters  to  Kelley,  who  counted 
on  his  co-operation,  are  worth  quoting.  Thus  he  says 
in  one  of  them :  "  When  you  adopted  the  plan  of  taking 
across  the  continent  in  the  first  expedition  women  and  chil- 
dren I  gave  up  hope  that  you  would  go  at  all,  and  all  inten- 
tion of  going  with  you  if  you  did  "  ;  and  in  another :  "  You 
very  much  mistake  if  you  think  I  wish  to  desert  your  party, 
but  you  must  recollect  that  the  ist  of  January  last  was  set  at 
first  as  the  time  of  starting,"  and  it  was  now  the  ist  of 
March  with  no  visible  preparations  yet,  on  Kelley's  part. 
Wyeth,  on  the  other  hand,  believed  in  keeping  his  appoint- 
ments even  if  made  only  with  himself.  He  had  fixed  on  the 
ist  of  March,  1832,  as  the  approximate  date  of  starting  and 
he  intended  to  start  then.  He  did  in  fact  leave  Boston  on 
the  loth  of  that  month  although  he  had  secured  a  party  of 
only  twenty  men. 

Wyeth  says  little  in  detail  of  the  makeup  of  his  expedi- 
tion, but  some  light  upon  it  from  a  not  very  friendly  source 
is  furnished  in  a  little  book  ^   published  by  a  kinsman,  John 

*  Sources  of  the  History  of  Oregon,  p.  20. 

*  A  Short  Story  of  a  Long  Journey.  This  is  a  racy  and  sarcastic  nar- 
rative of  what  the  writer  saw  of  the  expedition.  He  had  become  dis- 
gusted with  the  enterprise  and  was  not  strictly  impartial  as  an  historian. 


WYETH    STARTS    ON    HIS    JOURNEY.  439 

B.  Wyeth,  who  accompanied  the  expedition  to  Pierre's  Hole 
and  then  abandoned  it.  The  party  were  at  first  required  to 
wear  a  uniform  consisting  of  a  "  coarse  woolen  jacket  and 
pantaloons,  a  striped  cotton  shirt  and  cowhide  boots.  Ev- 
ery man  had  a  musket,  most  of  them  rifles,  all  of  them  bay- 
onets in  a  broad  belt,  together  with  a  large  clasp  knife  for 
eating  and  common  purposes."  A  bugle  was  also  provided 
for  signaling.  For  crossing  streams  which  were  too  deep 
to  ford,  the  wagon  boxes  were  carefully  caulked  and  fitted 
for  quick  conversion  into  boats.  The  sight  of  this  unusual 
contrivance  excited  the  risibilities  of  the  Cambridge  stu- 
dents who  poked  no  end  of  fun  at  it,  and  finally  gave  to  the 
amphibious  monster  a  scientific  name  of  suitable  length  and 
dignity  by  calling  it  a  Nat-JVyethium.  All  of  these  su- 
perfluous features  of  the  outfit  quickly  disappeared  before 
the  rough  experiences  of  the  trip,  and  no  one  was  more 
prompt  to  discard  them  than  Wyeth  himself  as  soon  as  he 
came  in  contact  with  the  true  conditions  of  the  journey. 

To  carry  out  the  maritime  part  of  the  program  Wyeth 
secured  the  financial  co-operation  of  the  firm  of  Henry  Hall 
and  Tucker  and  Williams  who  provided  the  means  for  char- 
tering and  loading  a  small  vessel,  the  Sultana,  Captain  Lam- 
bert, which  was  sent  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  by  way 
of  Cape  Horn. 

Wyeth  himself  left  Boston  with  a  party  of  twenty  men 
and  took  sail  to  Baltimore.  In  that  city  he  received  four 
recruits.  The  strength  of  his  party  when  he  reached  St. 
Louis  was  therefore  twenty- four  men.  At  St.  Louis  he 
came  in  contact  with  the  veterans  of  the  fur  trade  and  for 
the  first  time  understood  how  wide  was  their  range  of  ex- 
perience and  how  firmly  they  were  established  in  the  business 
which  he  was  about  to  enter.  McKenzie  was  down  from 
Fort  Union  and  Sublette  was  getting  ready  his  mountain 
expedition.     The  contrast  between  their  thorough  knowl- 

Wyeth  himself  characterized  the  book  as  full  of  "  white  lies"  ;  mislead- 
ing and  unfair,  but  not  maliciously  false  as  were  some  of  his  other 
critics  in  the  public  prints.     The  little  book  is  well  worth  perusal. 


/|^n  SUBLETTE    TAKES    PARTY    IN    TOW. 

edge  of  the  mountain  business  and  the  raw  inexperience 
of  Wyeth's  little  company  was  not  intended  to  strengthen 
their  confidence  or  enthusiasm  in  the  success  of  the  under- 
taking. Evidences  of  disaffection  already  began  to  show 
themselves,  although  not  to  such  an  extent  but  that  the  entire 
party  proceeded  on  the  journey  as  soon  as  the  necessary 
preparations  could  be  made  at  St.  Louis.  In  less  than  a 
week  they  embarked  on  the  steamboat  Otter  en  route  for 
the  frontier  rendezvous  at  Independence,  leaving  behind  the 
boat-wagons  which  Wyeth  sold  at  half-price  when  he 
learned  that  pack  animals  were  almost  exclusively  used  on 
the  Oregon  Trail.  In  due  time  most  of  the  party  arrived 
at  Independence.  Three,  however,  had  deserted  on  the  way 
up,  and  three  more  left  soon  afterward  —  a  loss  of  one- 
fourth  of  a  party  which  was  less  than  half  its  intended 
strength  to  start  with. 

The  little  band  remained  upwards  of  two  weeks  at  Inde- 
pendence getting  ready  for  the  forward  movement.  Here 
their  inexperience  and  lack  of  suitable  equipment  were  more 
than  ever  apparent  and  general  discouragement  might  have 
caused  the  abandonment  of  the  enterprise  then  and  there,  but 
for  the  timely  arrival  of  William  L.  Sublette  and  his  moun- 
tain expedition  from  St.  Louis.  With  his  perfect  knowledge 
of  conditions  in  the  mountains  Sublette  saw  that  he  had 
nothing  to  fear  from  this  new  company  and  might  very 
likely  draw  all  the  men  and  the  outfit  into  his  own  business 
before  he  got  through  with  them.  He  therefore  lent  them 
a  ready  hand,  set  them  on  their  feet,  and  offered  them  the 
protection  of  his  own  party  as  far  as  he  should  go.  To  the 
more  timid  this  unexpected  assistance  seemed  providential 
and  they  gave  it  an  exaggerated  importance  which  we  may 
be  sure  that  Wyeth  did  not.  Says  young  John  B.  Wyeth : 
"  To  me  it  seems  that  we  must  have  perished  for  want  of 
sustenance  in  the  deserts  of  the  Missouri  had  we  been  by 
ourselves  .  .  .  and  but  for  him  we  should  probably 
never  have  reached  the  American  Alps.  By  this  time  every 
man  had  begun  to  think  for  himself." 


THE    TOWN    MEETING    IN    PIERRE  S    HOLE.  44I 

Under  Sublette's  pilotage  Wyeth  and  his  eighteen  com- 
panions set  out  from  Independence  May  12th,  crossed  the 
plains,  and  without  any  notable  incident  reached  the  annual 
rendezvous  of  the  traders  in  Pierre's  Hole  on  July  8th. 
Here  they  found  one  of  those  unique  and  motley  gatherings 
which  could  be  seen  only  for  a  few  years  before  and  after 
1830,  a  heterogeneous  mixture  of  savages  and  white  men 
of  many  and  various  descriptions.  There  were  present 
about  two  hundred  lodges  of  Indians,  ninety  trappers  of 
the  American  Fur  Company,  one  hundred  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Fur  Company,  besides  Wyeth's  party  and  many 
free  trappers.  It  was  doubtless  a  strange  and  not  very 
inviting  spectacle  to  the  men  of  far-off  New  England  who 
had  probably  never  seen  a  wild  Indian  before  in  their  lives. 

The  party  were  now  on  Columbian  waters.  Sublette 
had  accompanied  them  as  far  as  he  could.  They  must  go 
the  rest  of  the  way  alone.  The  situation  was  altogether 
serious  to  many  of  them,  and  young  Wyeth's  account  of 
what  transpired  before  the  next  important  move  took  place,' 
is  so  naively  told  as  to  justify  its  verbatim  reproduction  here. 
"  We  had  been  dissatisfied  for  some  time,  but  we  had  not 
had  leisure  to  communicate  it,  and  systematize  our  griev- 
ances. Myself  and  some  others  requested  Captain  Wyeth 
to  call  a  meeting  of  his  followers,  to  ask  information,  and  to 
know  what  we  were  to  expect.  .  .  .  We  wished  to 
have  what  we  had  been  used  to  at  home —  a  town  meeting  — 
or  a  parish  meeting,  where  every  freeman  has  a  right  to 
speak  his  sentiments,  and  to  vote  thereon.  But  Captain  Wy- 
eth was  by  no  means  inclined  to  this  democratical  procedure. 
The  most  he  seemed  inclined  to_was  a  caucus  with  a  select 
few,  of  which  number  neither  his  own  brother,  though  older 
than  himself,  nor  myself  was  to  be  included.  After  consid- 
erable altercation  he  concluded  to  call  a  meeting  of  the 
whole,  on  business  interesting  and  applicable  to  all.  We  ac- 
cordingly met,  Captain  Wyeth  in  the  chair,  or  on  the  stump, 
I  forget  which.  Instead  of  every  man  speaking  his  own 
mind,  the  Captain  commenced  the  business  by  ordering  the 


442  NAPOLEONIC    SPIRIT. 

roll  to  be  called;  and  as  the  names  were  called  the  clerk 
asked  the  person  if  he  would  go  on.  The  first  name  was 
Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  whom  we  had  dubbed  Captain,  who 
answered  '  I  shall  go  on.'  The  next  was  William  Nud, 
who,  before  he  answered,  wished  to  know  what  the  Cap- 
tain's plan  and  intentions  were,  whether  to  try  to  commence 
a  small  colony  or  to  trap  and  trade  for  beaver.  To  which 
Captain  Wyeth  replied  that  tJiat  was  none  of  our  business. 
Then  Mr.  Nud  said :  '  I  shall  not  go  on ; '  and  as  the  names 
of  the  rest  were  called  there  appeared  seven  persons  out  of 
the  twenty-one  who  were  determined  to  return  home." 

The  total  number  who  finally  left  Captain  Wyeth  was 
seven,  leaving  eleven  who  adhered  to  the  enterprise.  Wyeth 
gave  up  one  of  his  two  tents  to  the  returning  party  and 
the  two  factions  pitched  their  camps  about  half  a  mile  apart. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  Napoleonic  spirit  of 
Captain  Wyeth  on  this  occasion.  It  was  not,  in  his  opinion, 
a  time  for  democratic  debates,  but  for  action.  He  wanted 
the  true  and  untrue  separated  from  each  other  that  he  might 
know  exactly  where  he  stood.  For  that  purpose  one  ques- 
tion was  enough  :  "  Will  you  go  or  return  ?"  No  amount 
of  conciliatory  debate  would  have  settled  the  question  more 
efifectually. 

Wyeth  now  attached  himself,  for  protection  until  beyond 
the  range  of  the  Blackfeet,  to  M.  G.  Sublette's  party  who 
were  going  off  to  the  westward  and  southwestward  to  trap. 
The  dissenters  attached  themselves  to  the  returning  party  of 
William  L.  Sublette.  M.  G.  Sublette's  party  set  out  on 
the  17th  of  July,  but  went  only  a  short  distance  that  day. 
On  the  following  morning  they  met  a  party  of  Blackfeet 
about  eight  miles  from  rendezvous  and  brought  on  the  cele- 
brated battle  of  Pierre's  Hole.^  This  affair  delayed  M.  G. 
Sublette  and  Wyeth  three  days,  and  W.  L.  Sublette,  who 
had  been  wounded  in  the  fight,  twelve  days.  The  seven  re- 
turning Wyethians  becoming  impatient  set  out  on  the  25th 
of  July  with  Alfred  K.  Stephens    and    a    party    of    four 

'  See  Part  IV.,  Chapter  II. 


REACHES    THE    COLUMBIA.  443 

men,  but  while  in  the  vicinity  of  Jackson  Hole  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  they  were  attacked  by  the  Blackfeet.  One  of  their 
number.  More,  and  a  man  named  Foy,  were  killed  on  the 
spot,  and  Stephens  was  fatally  wounded.  No  other  adven- 
ture of  importance  occurred  on  the  way  back,  and  that  part 
of  the  Wyeth  expedition  reached  home  in  safety,  wiser,  if 
not  wealthier,  than  when  they  started. 

On  the  24th  of  July  Wyeth  and  Milton  Sublette  again  set 
out  on  their  journey.  They  went  south  across  Snake  river 
and  then  took  a  southwesterly  direction  to  the  Portneuf 
river,  and  thence  to  the  Snake  near  the  American  Falls 
where  they  arrived  on  the  13th  of  August.  Their  further 
course  for  many  weeks  lay  among  the  streams  that  empty 
into  the  Snake  river  from  the  south,  where  Wyeth  tried  his 
hand  at  trapping,  with  a  view,  no  doubt,  of  getting  some 
experience  in  that  business.  He  was  moderately  success- 
ful but  he  was  compelled  to  cache  the  furs  he  gathered,  for 
his  party  was  too  small  to  transport  them.  On  the  29th  of 
August  Wyeth  parted  company  with  Sublette,  not  Avithout 
sincere  regret.^  It  is  quite  impossible  to  follow  him  closely 
in  his  wanderings  in  the  valley  of  Snake  river,  for  he  makes 
use  of  almost  no  geographical  names.  His  men  were  often 
short  of  provisions,  as  have  been  all  parties  traveling  in  that 
desolate  region.  On  the  28th  of  September  the  party  un- 
expectedly ran  across  Sublette  and  Fraeb  nearly  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Boise,  but  Wyeth,  who  was  away  from  camp, 
did  not  see  them.  Finally,  after  much  trouble  in  securing  a 
guide  they  succeeded  in  traversing  the  Blue  mountains  and 
arrived  at  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  post  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Walla  Walla  river  October  14th  at  five  o'clock  P.  M. 

At  the  hands  of  Mr.  Pambrun,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
post,  as  from  all  the  other  agents  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany, Wyeth  received  the  most  lavish  hospitality  and  uni- 
form kindness.  However  much  he  may  have  felt  cause  to 
complain  of  their  influence  in  ruining  his  own  schemes,  he 

^ "  This   party  have   treated   us   with   great   kindness   which    I    shall 
long  remember."     Sources  of  tlie  History  of  Oregon,  p.  165. 


444  AT    FORT    VANCOUVER. 

never  failed  to  acknowledge  his  deep  debt  to  them  for  their 
generosity  in  the  many  hours  of  distress  which  he  experi- 
enced while  in  their  country, 

Wyeth  took  leave  of  Fort  Walla  Walla  October  19th  and 
reached  Fort  Vancouver  on  the  morning  of  the  29th,  and  a 
week  later  he  made  a  visit  to  Fort  George  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia.  Either  at  Vancouver  or  George  he  learned 
that  his  ship  had  been  wrecked  at  the  Society  Islands  and 
that  this  part  of  his  program  had  ended  in  disaster.  Upon 
his  return  to  Vancouver  November  19th,  the  men  unani- 
mously asked  for  their  discharge,  as  it  was  patent  to  all  of 
them  that  the  expedition  was  a  failure  and  that  they  would 
have  to  shift  for  themselves.  Wyeth  could  not  of  course 
refuse,  and  the  little  band  here  dissolved  the  compact  under 
which  they  had  made  the  first  continuous  journey  on  record 
from  Boston  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  "  They  were 
good  men,"  is  Wyeth's  brief  comment  in  his  journal,  "  and 
persevered  as  long  as  perseverance  would  do  any  good.  I 
am  now  afloat  on  the  great  sea  of  life  without  stay  or  sup- 
port." ^ 

Wyeth  spent  the  winter  with  his  hospitable  entertainers  at 
Fort  Vancouver  except  for  an  excursion  which  he  made  up 
the  Willamette  river.  He  accomplished  nothing  further 
than  to  add  to  his  stock  of  information.  On  the  3rd  of 
February,  1833,  he  set  out  for  the  East  in  company  with 
Mr.  Ermatinger  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  who  was 
bound  for  the  post  among  the  Flathead  Indians.  They  as- 
cended the  Columbia  to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  then  struck  out 
northeast  for  Spokane  House,  at  that  time  abandoned  and 
in  ruins,  from  which  point  they  made  a  side  trip  to  Fort 
Colville.     From    Spokane   they   made   their   way   into   the 

"  Wyeth  left  Boston  with  twenty  men  besides  himself  He  secured 
four  more  at  Baltimore.  Before  he  left  Independence  six  deserted.  At 
Pierre's  Hole  seven  turned  back.  Wyeth  and  eleven  men  went  on.  At 
Vancouver  two  died,  five  went  home  by  sea,  two  remained  in  the  coun- 
try and  two  started  back  east  with  Wyeth  in  the  spring  of  1833.  0( 
these  two  one  was  discharged  in  the  Flathead  country  and  the  other 
apparently  completed  the  journey  home. 


WYETH  S    ARRANGEMENT    WITH    BONNEVILLE.  445 

Flathead  country,  arriving  at  the  company's  fort  there  on 
the  7th  of  April.  From  this  point  Wyeth  made  a  tortuous 
journey  south,  passing  across  the  Divide  to  the  sources  of 
the  Missouri,  thence  back  to  the  sources  of  the  Salmon  river 
and  thence  into  the  valley  of  the  Godin  river  and  the  plains 
of  Snake  river  where  he  could  see  the  Three  Buttes  to  the 
south  and  the  Three  Tetons  far  to  the  southeast.  Here  he 
fell  in  with  Bonneville's  clerk,  Hodgkiss,  and  through  him 
wrote  to  the  Captain  under  date  of  June  22,  making  a  propo- 
sition for  a  joint  hunt  in  the  country  south  of  the  Columbia 
as  far  as  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Spanish  settlements  in  Califor- 
nia. Captain  Bonneville  accepted  this  proposition  and  it 
was  arranged  that  Wyeth  should  lead  the  party.  Wyeth 
joined  Bonneville  on  the  2nd  of  July  at  a  point  about  eight- 
een miles  east  of  Henry  river  and  the  two  remained  in 
camp  here  for  the  next  five  days.  Wyeth  employed  the  4th 
of  July  in  writing  numerous  letters  to  parties  in  the  East  in 
all  of  which  he  mentions  his  arrangement  with  Bonneville 
for  the  next  year's  hunt  and  his  intention  to  go  to  Califor- 
nia. It  was  a  cold,  disagreeable  day,  yet  the  indefatigable 
Wyeth  penned  no  fewer  than  seven  long  letters  which  to- 
gether make  up  eight  pages  of  fine  print  as  they  have  recently 
been  given  to  the  world.  He  presumably  wrote  also  the 
copy  in  his  letter-book.  It  was  not  a  very  cheerful  outlook 
to  the  brave  New  Englander,  there  on  the  bleak  desert, 
spending  the  natal  day  of  his  beloved  country,'^  But  he 
was  true  game  and  although  he  confessed  that  reflections 
upon  his  situation  now  and  then  gave  him  the  "  blue  devils," 
he  never  relaxed  for  a  moment  his  energy  and  determination 
to  succeed. 

But  either  on  the  4th  or  the  following  day  a  complete 

^"I  hope  that  today  you  are  better  oflf  than  myself.  I  hope  you  are 
in  peace  of  mind  and  content,  enjoying  with  your  friends  and  family  the 
festivities  of  the  day,  and  I  hope  you  have  a  thought,  too,  of  me.  Imag- 
ine to  yourself  a  fellow  seated  on  the  open  and  extensive  prairie  beside  a 
little  brook,  without  fire  in  freezing  weather,  and  poorly  clad  in  skins 
with  plenty  of  poor  raw  dried  buffalo  meat,  and  you  see  Nat." 
Sources  of  the  History  of  Oregon,  p.  65. 


446  WYETH    STARTS    FOR    HOME. 

change,  of  which  we  have  not  the  slightest  explanation,  came 
over  Wyeth's  plans.  He  gave  up  his  arrangement  with 
Bonneville  and  decided  to  go  directly  home.  The  letters 
written  the  day  before,  which  he  was  to  have  sent  by  Mr. 
Cerre,  were  now  unnecessary,  and  "  not  sent  "  is  written 
across  the  face  of  each  in  the  letter-book.  Although  Wyeth 
says  that  he  had  furs  enough  in  various  caches  through  the 
mountains  to  pay  his  expenses  thus  far,  still  he  does  not  seem 
to  have  collected  them,  but  started  immediately  for  home, 
going  by  way  of  the  annual  rendezvous  at  the  head  of  Green 
river.  He  set  out  on  the  7th  of  July,  passed  the  battle 
ground  of  Pierre's  Hole  on  the  loth,  crossed  Snake  river  the 
next  day,  passed  the  spot  where  one  of  his  men  was  killed 
by  the  Blackfeet  the  year  before,  and  reached  Green  river  at 
Bonneville's  fort  on  the  15th.  Here  the  great  gathering  of 
the  mountain  parties  was  already  assembled,^  and  here 
Wyeth  received  his  first  letters  from  home. 

The  rendezvous  broke  up  about  the  25th  of  July  and 
the  various  parties  set  out  via  South  Pass  for  the  Bighorn 
river  where  they  intended  to  ship  their  cargoes  for  St.  Louis. 
Wyeth's  trip  in  a  bullboat  from  the  head  of  navigation  on 
the  Bighorn  to  Fort  Union  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone 
was  full  of  Incident  and  has  given  Irving  an  opportunity  for 
one  of  the  best  passages  in  his  Captain  Bonneville.  In 
particular  the  completeness  with  which  Wyeth  took  the 
conceit  out  of  his  hunters  who  professed  a  keen  contempt 
for  the  raw  Easterner,  and  repeatedly  excelled  them  in  their 
own  craft,  gave  evident  satisfaction  to  the  genial  author. 
Wyeth  spent  August  12th  to  i6th  making  his  bullboat,  a  few 
miles  above  the  Little  Bighorn.  While  here  he  entered 
into  a  contract,  August  14th,  with  Milton  Sublette,  on  be- 

' "  Found  here  collected  Captain  Walker,  Bonneville,  Cerry  of  one 
Co.,  Drips  and  Fontenelle  of  the  American  Fur  Co.,  Mr.  Campbell  just 
from  St.  Louis,  Messrs.  Fitzpatrick,  Gervais,  Milton  Sublette  of  R.  M. 
F.  Co.,  and  in  all  the  companies  about  three  hundred  whites  and  a  small 
village  of  Snakes."     Sources  of  the  History  of  Oregon,  p.  205. 


AT    FORT    UNION.  447 

half  of  the  Rocky  Alountain  Fur  Company,  giving  a  bond 
for  its  faithful  performance,  to  bring  out  next  year  before  a 
stated  time  three  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  merchandise 
required  by  the  company  for  the  prosecution  of  their  trade 
the  following  year. 

Wyeth  set  out  in  his  bullboat  on  the  i6th  of  August, 
arriving  at  Fort  Cass  on  the  following  day,  and  at  Fort  Un- 
ion on  the  24th  where  they  were  entertained  for  the  next 
three  days  by  McKenzie  ^  "  with  all  possible  politeness  and 
hospitality."  Meanwhile  Wyeth  took  careful  note  of  the 
fort  which  he  considered  to  have  been  "  better  furnished 
than  any  British  fort "  which  he  had  seen.  Naturally  he 
did  not  fail  to  record  his  enjoyment  of  such  luxuries  as 
milk,  flour,  bread,  bacon,  cheese,  and  butter.  He  also  noted 
that  they  used  coal  and  burned  lime,  and  he  records  with 
ominous  import,  when  read  in  the  light  of  later  events,  that 
"  they  are  beginning  to  distill  spirits  from  corn  traded  from 
the  Indians  below,  owing  to  some  restriction  on  the  intro- 
duction of  the  article  into  the  country."  At  Union  Wyeth 
found  the  identical  powder  flask  that  belonged  to  More  who 
was  killed  by  the  Blackfeet  the  year  before.  It  had  been 
brought  in  and  traded  by  the  Indians. 

Wyeth  left  the  fort  at  10:30  A.  M.  on  August  27th  in 
company  with  Milton  Sublette.  Just  as  they  were  going 
into  camp  for  the  night  they  met  William  L.  Sublette  who 
had  been  establishing  opposition  posts  along  the  river  and 
was  now  about  to  erect  one  near  Fort  Union.  Here  Milton 
concluded  to  remain  with  his  brother,  and  Wyeth  was  there- 
fore left  without  any  one  who  had  ever  descended  the  river 
before.  His  only  comment  upon  the  situation  was :  "I 
can  go  down  stream,"  and  down  he  started  the  next  morn- 
ing. He  passed  the  Mandans  September  2nd,  Fort  Pierre 
on  the  8th,  Council  Bluffs  on  the  21st,  Leavenworth  on  the 
27th,  St.  Louis  October  9th  and  reached  Cambridge  Novem- 
ber 7th.     In  passing  Leavenworth  he  reported  to  the  gov- 

*  McKenzie's  opinion  of  Wyeth  —  "a  man  of  many  schemes  and  con- 
siderable talent." 


448  ORGANIZES    A    NEW    EXPEDITION. 

ernment  authorities  the  fact  that  McKenzie  was  running  a 
whiskey  distillery  at  Fort  Union. 

With  as  much  energy  and  enthusiasm  as  if  his  last  year's 
venture  had  been  a  brilliant  success  instead  of  a  total  failure, 
Wyeth  began,  on  the  very  day  of  his  return,  preparations 
for  a  repetition  of  his  experiment.  His  report  of  operations 
to  Messrs.  Henry  Hall,  Tucker  and  Williams,  and  his  vari- 
ous letters  written  at  this  time,  furnish  some  of  the  most 
authentic  data  now  extant  upon  the  fur  trade  of  that  period. 
No  better  proof  could  be  found  of  Wyeth's  ability  and  ener- 
gy than  the  fact  that  in  spite  of  his  failure  thus  far  he  was 
able  to  enlist  his  financial  associates  in  a  second  and  more 
extensive  enterprise.  His  contract  with  M.  G.  Sublette  gave 
him  a  substantial  point  d'appni  in  arranging  for  means  to 
launch  his  new  expedition.  He  counted  upon  it  as  a  starting 
point  in  opening  up  a  carrying  trade  for  parties  doing  busi- 
ness in  the  m.ountains.  He  had  observed  so  carefully  every- 
thing connected  with  the  trade  that  his  minute  familiarity 
with  it  all  astonished  his  friends  and  despite  his  lack  of  suc- 
cess they  resolved  to  give  him  one  more  trial.  A  company 
was  formed  under  the  name  of  the  Columbia  River  Fishing 
and  Trading  Company.  Another  ship,  the  May  Dacre,  was 
outfitted  to  go  round  by  sea.  Milton  Sublette  came  on  to 
Boston  during  the  winter  and  with  him  Wyeth  made  ar- 
rangements to  fill  his  contract  for  the  ensuing  season.  A 
further  evidence  of  the  versatility  of  Wyeth's  ambition  is 
seen  in  the  fact  that  he  found  time  amid  the  rush  of  his  busi- 
ness to  learn  how  to  take  latitude  and  longitude  and  carried 
with  him  the  instruments  for  making  observations. 

Having  made  all  the  necessary  arrangements  Wyeth  left 
Boston  on  his  second  expedition  February  7th,  1834.  and 
arrived  at  St.  Louis  March  9th  where  he  organized  a  com- 
pany of  seventy  men,  intending  to  cross  the  plains  with  the 
parties  going  to  the  annual  rendezvous.  He  left  St.  Louis 
on  the  3rd  of  April  and  arrived  at  Independence  in  due  time 
with  all  of  his  party  and  goods.  Here  he  complains  that 
"  the  opposition  of  the  four  companies  have  made  me  pay  a 


ON    THE    WAY    TO    RENDEZVOUS.  449 

heavy  advance  on  men  and  high  prices  for  horses."  But 
Wyeth  was  now  a  veteran  with  the  rest  of  them  and  he  was 
able  to  report  to  his  financial  sponsors  that  "everything  is  fa- 
vorable except  that  the  expense  will  be  greater  than  has  been 
calculated." 

His  present  expedition  was  honored  by  the  presence  of 
some  distinguished  travelers.  There  were  two  scientists, 
Thomas  Nuttall  and  J.  K.  Townsend,  and  several  mission- 
aries under  the  leadership  of  Jason  and  Daniel  Lee.  Refer- 
ring to  the  latter  in  a  letter  dated  April  17th,  Wyeth  says: 
"  There  are  none  of  the  dignitaries  with  me  yet,  and  if  they 
preach  much  longer  in  the  States  they  will  lose  their  passage, 
for  I  will  not  wait  a  minute  for  them."  They  did,  however, 
arrive  in  time  and  the  united  parties  set  out  on  their  long 
journey  on  the  28th  of  April,  1834. 

On  the  8th  of  May  Milton  G.  Sublette  was  compelled  to 
abandon  the  expedition  on  account  of  sickness.  On  the  12th 
William  L.  Sublette  with  his  expedition  passed  Wyeth. 
These  two  events,  unimportant  in  themselves,  had  deep 
meaning  for  Wyeth,  who  already,  no  doubt,  began  to  fear 
the  machinations  of  the  elder  Sublette  and  to  suspect  that 
with  both  Milton  and  himself  absent  from  rendezvous  when 
Sublette  arrived  his  own  interests  would  receive  scant  con- 
sideration. He  sent  a  letter  by  Sublette  to  Fitzpatrick  no- 
tifying him  of  his  early  approach  with  goods  in  compliance 
with  his  contract. 

The  journey  across  the  plains  was  a  pleasant  and  success- 
ful one.  On  the  ist  of  June  the  party  crossed  Laramie  river 
and  found  some  of  Sublette's  men  engaged  in  building  a 
post  there,  the  first  ever  erected  in  triat  locality,  where  later 
stood  the  most  important  military  fort  of  the  plains.  Inde- 
pendence Rock  was  passed  on  the  morning  of  the  9th  and 
from  an  inscription  left  by  Sublette  it  was  learned  that  he 
had  passed  there  three  days  before.  This  day  Wyeth  sent 
an  express  to  Fitzpatrick  notifying  him  of  his  near  approach. 
South  Pass  was  crossed  June  14th  and  the  party  proceeded 
by  rapid  marches  down  the  Big   Sandy.     The   following 


45©  CONTRACT    REPUDIATED. 

entry  in  Wyeth's  journal  for  June  19th  describes  the  close 
of  his  journey  to  the  rendezvous:  "  On  the  night  of  the 
17th  I  left  camp  to  hunt  Fitzpatrick  and  slept  on  the  prairie. 
In  the  morning  struck  Green  river  and  went  down  to  the 
forks  and  finding  nothing  went  up  again  and  found  rendez- 
vous about  twelve  miles  up,  and  much  to  my  astonishment 
the  goods  which  I  had  contracted  to  bring  up  to  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Fur  Company  were  refused  by  those  honorable 
gentlemen.     Latitude  41  degrees  30  minutes." 

Thus  Wyeth's  worst  fears  were  realized.  The  merchan- 
dise which  he  had  transported  across  the  prairie  was  refused. 
The  absence  of  Milton  G.  Sublette  and  the  early  arrival  at 
rendezvous  of  William  L.  had  enabled  the  latter  to  induce 
the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  to  refuse  to  stand  by  the 
contract.  In  fact  affairs  in  the  mountains  had  taken  on  a 
dismal  aspect.  Between  mutual  quarrelings  and  attacks  by 
the  Indians  none  of  the  companies  had  made  more  than 
enough  to  pay  off  their  men.  The  Rocky  Mountain  Fur 
Company  was  on  the  point  of  dissolution,  and  was  dissolved 
on  the  20th  of  June,  and  the  new  firm  of  Fitzpatrick,  Sub- 
lette and  Bridger  was  formed.  These  gloomy  prospects  no 
doubt  had  their  weight  with  Fitzpatrick,  of  whom  Wyeth 
thus  writes  to  Milton  Sublette  under  date  of  July  ist:  "I 
do  not  accuse  you  or  him  of  any  intention  of  injuring  me  in 
this  manner  when  you  made  the  contract,  but  I  think  he 
has  been  bribed  to  sacrifice  my  interests  by  better  offers  from 
your  brother." 

As  for  Wyeth  the  most  he  received  was  an  advance  of  five 
hundred  dollars  which  he  had  made  to  Milton  G.  Sublette 
at  Independence,  and  the  "  forfeit,"  whatever  that  might 
have  been,  which  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  was 
obligated  to  pay ;  but  they  refused  "  even  to  pay  the  interest 
on  cash  advances  for  there  is  no  law  here."  Wyeth  was 
highly  indignant  at  this  thoroughly  dishonest  treatment  and 
he  is  said  to  have  told  Fitzpatrick  and  Sublette  that  he  would 
yet  "  roll  a  stone  into  their  garden  which  they  would  never 
be  able  to  get  out."     His  first  movement  was  a  practical 


ESTABLISHMENT    OF    FORT    HALL.  45 1 

fulfillment  of  his  threat.  Finding  himself  encumbered  with 
a  quantity  of  goods  which  he  had  expected  to  be  rid  of  at 
Green  river,  some  new  arrangement  became  immediately- 
necessary.  With  characteristic  promptness  Wyeth  decided 
to  build  a  fort  as  soon  as  he  should  reach  Snake  river,  and 
leave  there  a  trader  with  his  surplus  goods.  With  126 
horses,  forty-one  men  and  his  outfit  of  merchandise  he  left 
camp  on  Ham's  Fork  ^^  July  3rd,  and  set  out  for  Snake 
river.  The  4th  of  July  he  spent  in  camp  on  Twin  creek, 
a  branch  of  Bear  river,  where  he  gave  the  men  a  celebra- 
tion,^^ in  company  with  Cerre  and  Walker,  who  were  going 
east  with  Bonneville's  returns.  Wyeth  reached  the  Soda 
Springs  on  Bear  river  July  8th  and  then  started  across  the 
country  for  Snake  river.  On  the  loth  he  passed  Bonneville 
who  was  exerting  himself  to  keep  out  of  his  way.  He 
reached  Snake  river  on  the  14th  and  selected  a  site  for  his 
post  the  next  day.  Its  erection  was  commenced  on  the  i6th 
and  by  the  5th  of  August  was  so  far  progressed  that  Wyeth 
felt  that  he  could  proceed  on  his  journey.  His  entry  in  his 
diary  for  August  6th  is :  "  Having  done  as  much  as  was 
requisite  for  safety  to  the  fort  and  drank  a  bale  of  liquor  and 
named  it  Fort  Hall  ^^  in  honor  of  the  oldest  partner  of  our 
concern,  we  left  it  and  with  it  Mr.  Evans  in  charge  of  eleven 
men  and  fourteen  horses  and  mules  and  three  cows."     This 

"  There  is  no  little  confusion  as  to  the  precise  location  of  this  year's 
rendezvous,  but  from  Wyeth's  Journal  it  seems  to  have  been  about  12 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Sandy  in  the  valley  of  Green  river. 
The  parties,  however,  did  not  remain  here  but  moved  over  to  Ham's 
Fork,  a  short  day's  march,  on  the  19th.  It  was  here  that  all  of  Wyeth's 
correspondence  at  this  time  was  dated,  and  here  were  signed  the  con- 
tracts for  the  dissolution  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  and 
the  organization  of  its  successor. 

" "  I  gave  the  men  too  much  alcohol  for  peace  and  took  a  pretty 
hearty  spree  myself."     Wyeth's  Journal. 

""Since  mine  of  June  21st  from  Ham's  Fork  I  have,  as  I  then  pro- 
posed, built  a  fort  on  Snake  or  Lewis  river  in  Lat.  43  deg.  14  min.  N. 
and  Long.  113  deg.  30  min.  W.  which  I  named  Fort  Hall  in  honor  of 
the  oldest  gentleman  in  the  concern.  We  manufactured  a  magnificent 
flag  from  some  unbleached  sheeting,  a  little  red  flannel  and  a  few  blue 


452  OPERATIONS    ON    THE    COLUMBIA. 

was  the  stone  which  Wyeth  rolled  into  the  garden  of  the 
mountain  traders  and  which  they  never  succeeded  in  rolling 
out. 

Wyeth  having  crossed  the  Snake  river  made  his  way  over 
the  lava  plain  to  the  Boise  river  and  down  that  stream  to 
the  Snake  which  he  forded  on  the  23rd  of  August.  He  ar- 
rived at  the  Grande  Ronde  August  31st  and  found  Captain 
Bonneville  there.  Resuming  his  route  he  reached  Fort 
Walla  Walla  September  2nd  and  Fort  Vancouver  on  the 
14th  of  that  month.  The  next  day  the  brig  May  Dacre 
arrived  and  Wyeth  learned  that  she  had  been  struck  by 
lightning  on  her  way  out  and  had  been  compelled  to  put  into 
Valparaiso  for  repairs  at  a  loss  of  three  months'  time.  This 
made  her  too  late  for  the  fishing  season  and  thus  another 
move  in  Wyeth's  combination  had  failed.  The  vessel  was 
retained  till  winter  and  was  sent  to  the  Sandwich  Islands 
with  a  load  of  "  timber  and  card  "  returning  in  the  spring 
with  cattle,  sheep,  goats,  hogs,  etc. 

During  the  autumn  and  winter  Wyeth  pushed  his  business 
with  almost  incredible  energy.  He  personally  explored  the 
Willamette  valley  as  far  as  to  the  falls  of  that  river.  He 
sent  Captain  Thing  of  the  May  Dacre  with  eight  of  his  men 
and  thirteen  Sandwich  Islanders  to  Fort  Hall  with  an  outfit 
of  supplies.  He  himself  conducted  an  extensive  trapping 
expedition  along  the  Des  Chutes  river  going  as  far  as  its 
sources  in  central  Oregon.  While  on  this  expedition  he  was 
on  the  lookout  for  some  deserters  whom  he  supposed  to 
have  gone  in  that  direction.  He  also  established  a  trading 
post  on  Wappatoo  Island  near  the  mouth  of  the  Willamette, 

patches ;  saluted  it  with  damaged  powder  and  wet  it  in  villainous 
alcohol,  and  after  all  it  makes,  I  do  assure  you,  a  very  respectable  ap- 
pearance among  the  dry  and  desolate  regions  of  central  Ainerica.  Its 
bastions  stand  a  terror  to  the  skulking  Indian  and  a  beacon  of  safety 
to  the  fugitive  hunter.  It  is  manned  by  12  men  and  has  constantly 
loaded  in  the  bastions  100  guns  and  rifles.  These  bastions  command 
both  the  inside  and  outside  of  the  fort."  Wyeth  to  Leonard  Jarvis 
dated  Columbia  river  October  6,  1834.  Wyeth's  second  post  was  Fort 
William  on  Wappatoo  Island.  He  contemplated  building  a  third  near 
Great  Salt  Lake. 


FAILURE    OF    ENTERPRISE.  453 

which  he  named  Fort  WilHam,  presumably  for  another 
member  of  the  Boston  firm  of  Henry  Hall  and  Tucker  and 
Williams.  13 

Wyeth's  indomitable  pluck  won  for  him  the  admiration  of 
every  one  and  particularly  of  the  philanthropic  Hudson  Bay 
Company  factor  at  Fort  Vancouver,  the  venerable  Dr.  John 
McLoughlin.  These  two  men  formed  an  earnest  and  last- 
ing attachment  for  each  other  with  which  the  necessities 
of  business  competition  were  never  permitted  to  interfere. 

But  in  spite  of  Wyeth's  herculean  efforts  his  business  did 
not  prosper.  His  British  friends,  though  kind  and  hospi- 
table to  a  degree,  could  not,  of  course,  aid  him  in  his  schemes 
of  commercial  rivalry,  and  gradually,  yet  surely,  he  saw  the 
fabric  of  his  hopes  crumble  to  ruin.  The  salmon  business 
did  not  develop  as  was  expected.  Fourteen  of  his  men  were 
lost  within  a  year  by  drowning  or  at  the  hands  of  the  In- 
dians. All  the  rest  had  suffered  much  from  sickness,  and 
Wyeth  himself,  after  almost  incredible  sufferings,  was  seized 
with  bilious  fever  late  in  the  summer  of  1835  and  very  nearly 
perished.  His  situation  at  the  time  may  best  be  told  in 
the  words  of  a  friendly  eye  witness.  Townsend  the  natural- 
ist in  his  journal  of  July  11,  1835,  says:  "  It  really  seems 
that  the  *  Columbia  River  Fishing  and  Trading  Company  ' 
is  devoted  to  destruction;  disasters  meet  them  at  every 
turn,  and  as  yet  none  of  their  schemes  have  prospered.  This 
has  not  been  for  want  of  energy  or  exertion.  Captain  Wy- 
eth has  pursued  the  plans  which  to  him  seemed  best  adapted 
for  ensuring  success,  with  the  most  indefatigable  persever- 
ance and  industry,  and  has  endured  hardships  without  mur- 
muring which  would  have  prostrated  many  a  more  robust 
man.     Nevertheless  he  has  not  succeeded." 

"  To  Wyeth's  great  astonishment,  upon  his  return  to  Vancouver  from 
this  expedition  he  found  Hall  J.  Kelley,  who  had  at  length  reached  the 
land  of  his  long  years  of  dreaming.  But  he  had  arrived  forlorn  and 
discredited,  having  come  up  from  California  by  land,  and,  it  was  said, 
having  been  a  party  to  a  theft  of  horses.  On  this  account,  says  Wyeth, 
he  "  is  not  received  at  the  fort  as  a  gentleman.  A  house  is  given  him 
and  food  is  sent  him  from  the  governor's  table  but  he  is  not  suffered 
to  mess  here." 


454  GLAD    TO    GO    DOWN    WITH    THE    SUN. 

Farnham  in  his  Travels  in  the  Western  Prairies  likewise 
speaks  enthusiastically  of  Wyeth's  management.  "  From 
what  I  saw  and  heard  of  Wyeth's  management  in  Oregon 
I  was  impressed  with  the  belief  that  he  was,  beyond  com- 
parison, the  most  talented  business  man  from  the  States  that 
ever  established  himself  in  the  territory."  But,  according 
to  this  same  authority,  the  causes  of  his  failure  were  not 
hard  to  find.  "  In  pursuance  of  the  avowed  doctrine  of  that 
company  [the  Hudson  Bay]  that  no  others  have  a  right  to 
trade  in  furs  beyond  the  Rocky  mountains,  whilst  the  use  of 
capital  and  their  incomparable  skill  and  perseverance  can 
prevent  it,  they  established  a  fort  near  him  [referring  here  to 
Fort  Hall],  preceded  him,  followed  him,  surrounded  him 
everywhere  and  cut  the  throat  of  his  prosperity  with  such 
kindness  and  politeness  that  Wyeth  was  induced  to  sell 
his  whole  interest,  existent  and  prospective,  in  Oregon,  to 
his  generous,  but  too  indefatigable,  skilful  and  powerful 
antagonist." 

In  language  almost  pathetic  Wyeth  himself,  on  one  occa- 
sion where  his  misfortunes  had  gotten  the  better  of  his 
feelings,  thus  unbosoms  himself  in  a  letter  to  his  uncle, 
Leonard  Jarvis :  "  I  am  surrounded  with  difficulties  be- 
yond any  former  period  of  my  life  and  without  the  health 
and  spirit  to  support  them.  In  this  situation  you  can  judge 
if  memory  brings  to  me  the  warnings  of  those  wiser  and 
older  who  advised  a  course  which  would  at  least  have  re- 
sulted in  quietness.  Yes,  memory  lends  its  powers  for  tor- 
ment. A  few  days  ago  she  told  a  tale  which  carried  me  back 
to  early  life,  led  me  through  the  varying  shades  of  days 
and  years,  while  at  every  step  the  tale  grew  darker  and  at 
last  delivered  me  to  the  horrors  of  the  present  time.  What 
at  that  moment  they  were  you  may  imagine  —  a  business 
scattered  over  half  the  deserts  of  the  earth,  and  myself 
a  powerless  lump  of  matter  in  the  extremity  of  mortal  pain 
with  little  hope  of  surviving  a  day ;  and  if  it  could  have  iDeen 
said,  *  he  never  existed,  '  glad  to  go  down  with  that  sun." 

Having  now  given  up  all  hope  of  successfully  continuing 


FAILURE    BUT    NOT   DISHONOR.  455 

the  business  Wyeth  turned  his  thoughts  to  the  matter  of 
closing  it  out  as  advantageously  as  possible.  He  went  to 
Fort  Hall  in  the  fall  of  1835  and  remained  there  during  the 
winter.  Returning  to  Fort  William  in  the  spring  he  placed 
it  in  charge  of  a  Mr.  C.  M.  Walker  with  directions  to  lease  it 
for  fifteen  years  if  he  could,  and  then  went  back  to  Fort  Hall 
where  he  arrived  on  the  i8th  of  June.  A  week  later  he  left 
for  the  east  by  way  of  Taos  and  the  Arkansas  river  and 
reached  home  early  in  the  autumn  of  1836.  In  the  follow- 
ing year  Fort  Hall  and  all  its  appurtenances  w^ere  sold  to  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company.  Fort  William  was  not  disposed 
of,  and  Wyeth's  possession  of  the  island  became  the  founda- 
tion of  a  claim  for  it  at  a  later  date  under  United  States 
laws. 

Thus  ended  in  failure,  but  not  dishonor,  one  of  the  cele- 
brated enterprises  of  the  American  Fur  Trade.  The  causes 
of  its  failure  are  plainly  apparent,  and  may  all  be  summed 
up  in  want  of  adequate  preparation,  and  in  the  apathy  of 
the  United  States  government  to  its  true  interests  on  the 
Pacific.  Wyeth's  enterprise  was  not  unlike  Astor's,  but  was 
undertaken  at  a  time  when  the  great  company  which  had 
worsted  Astor  was  firmly  established  in  all  the  valley  of  the 
Columbia.  If  the  unlimited  resources  of  Mr.  Astor  could 
not  succeed  where  he  had  at  least  an  even  chance  with  his 
rivals,  how  little  could  Wyeth  expect  success  against  the 
same  rivals  now  firmly  established  and  for  twenty  years  in 
possession  of  the  country.  Nothing  could  have  prevented 
his  failure  except  heavy  financial  backing  which  could  have 
held  out  through  months  and  perhaps  years  of  preliminary 
failure.  This  backing  Wyeth  did  not  have.  "  The  busi- 
ness I  am  in  must  be  closed,"  he  wrote  to  his  old  partner  in 
the  ice  business,  "  not  that  it  might  not  be  made  a  good  one, 
but  that  those  who  are  now  engaged  in  it  are  not  the  men 
to  make  it  so.  The  smallest  loss  makes  them  *  fly  the  han- 
dle '  and  such  men  can  rarely  succeed  in  a  new  business."  It 
was  no  dishonor  to  Wyeth  that  he  failed.  His  plans  were  in 
themselves  well  conceived,  no  less  so  than  those  of  Astor,  but 


456  wyeth's  journal. 

success  in  both  cases  unfortunately  depended  upon  questions 
of  an  international  character  over  which  private  individuals 
had  no  control. ^^ 

"  Wyeth's  journal  and  letter  books,  which  were  kept  with  extraordi- 
nary fullness  and  regularity,  even  amid  the  difficulties  of  his  long  over- 
land journeys,  are  an  invaluable  store  of  information  concerning  the 
fur  trade  between  1830  and  1840.  They  have  recently  been  published 
by  the  Historical  Society  of  Oregon  under  the  title  of  Sources  of  the 
History  of  Oregon.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  Irving  had  access 
to  these  documents  during  his  preparation  of  the  history  of  Captain 
Bonneville's  adventures. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  OREGON  TRAIL. 

The  Astorians  and  the  Oregon  Trail  —  Work  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain Fur  Company  —  Recovery  of  the  old  line  —  The  Trail  a  national 
road  —  Its  character  as  a  highway  —  Impression  upon  the  Indians  — 
The  Trail  as  a  memorial  —  Reoccupation  of  the  Trail  —  Itinerary  of  the 
Trail  —  Independence  and  Westport  —  Brady  Island  —  Scott's  Bluffs  — 
Laramie  river  —  Sweetwater  river  —  Independence  Rock  —  The  Devil's 
Gate  —  South  Pass  —  Fort  Bridger  —  Sublette's  Cutoff  —  Soda  Springs 
—  Portneuf  river  —  Fort  Hall  —  Fort  Boise  —  The  Grande  Rondc  — 
The  Columbia  river  —  Fort  Vancouver. 

^T  HE  course  of  our  narrative  thus  far  has  indicated  pretty 
^•^  definitely  the  development  of  a  general  route  of  travel 
across  the  plains  and  over  the  Rocky  mountains.  The  go- 
ings and  comings  of  the  trappers  and  traders  had  gradually 
connected  the  more  feasible  crossings  of  the  mountains  and 
deserts  until  by  1843  there  was  a  well-defined  continuous 
route  from  the  Missouri  river  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas 
to  the  Pacific  ocean  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  It  is 
known  in  Western  history  as  the  Oregon  Trail. 

1  he  history  of  the  Oregon  Trail  begins  with  the  Astorian 
expeditions  of  1811-1813.  In  their  outward  journey  Hunt 
and  Crooks  followed  the  line  of  the  Trail  approximately 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Portneuf  where  Fort  Hall  later  stood 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  Stuart  and  Crooks,  on  their 
return  journey,  after  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Portneuf, 
followed  the  subsequent  route  across  to  Bear  river  and  up 
this  stream  to  the  mouth  of  Thompson  Fork.  At  this  point 
they  left  the  river  and  made  their  wide  and  senseless  detour 
to  the  north  in  order  to  get  back  to  Hunt's  outgoing  route 
of  the  previous  year.     They  again  touched  the  Trail  a  few 


458  DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    TRAIL. 

■:;i!f's  west  of  South  Pass,  but  instead  of  turning  east  into 
pass,  they  went  some  distance  south  and  then  turned 
o^v';!.,  paralleling  the  Trail  for  about  one  hundred  miles. 
Finally  turning  north  they  came  again  on  the  Trail  in  the 
Sweetwater  valley  at  no  great  distance  above  the  Devil's 
Gate.  From  this  point  eastward  to  Grand  Island  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  Platte  they  were  on  the  line  of  the  Trail;  but 
they  continued  down  the  Platte  to  the  Missouri,  whereas 
the  Trail,  as  it  later  developed,  crossed  the  country  from 
Grand  Island  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas.  The  Astorians 
thus  traveled,  on  their  two  expeditions,  nearly  the  whole 
course  of  the  Oregon  Trail.  They  also  published  an  ac- 
count of  their  journey  in  which  they  pronounced  the  route 
entirely  practicable,  even  for  wagons.^ 

The  next  step  in  the  development  of  the  Trail  may  be 
traced  to  the  parties  of  General  Ashley.  South  Pass  was 
discovered,  probably  in  the  fall  of  1823,  and" certainly  not 
later  than  1824.  The  line  of  the  Sweetwater  valley  was 
opened  up  at  the  same  time,  as  was  also  the  route  from 
South  Pass  to  Bear  river.  In  1826  Jedediah  S.  Smith  con- 
nected this  route  with  Southern  California  by  another  ex- 
tending from  Great  Salt  Lake  to  the  Colorado  river  and 
thence  across  the  Mojave  desert  to  the  Spanish  settlements. 
In  the  following  year  he  opened  the  route  between  San  Fran- 
cisco and  Great  Salt  Lake  across  the  Sierra  Nevada  moun- 
tains.  Between  1832  and  1836  the  parties  of  Bonneville 
and  Wyeth  passed  repeatedly  over  all  parts  of  the  Trail, 
while  Walker  crossed  from  Great  Salt  Lake  to  the  Pacific. 
The  portion  of  the  route  between  Independence,  Mo.,  and 
Grand  Island  on  the  Platte  came  into  use  at  an  early  day,  but 

*  In  a  strict  sense  the  Oregon  Trail,  and  all  the  other  early  routes 
of  travel,  were  opened  up  by  the  Indians  to  whom  they  had  been 
known  from  time  immemorial.  These  people  did  simply  what  any  other 
people  would  do,  what  even  the  wild  beasts  do,  they  crossed  the  country 
by  those  routes  which  ofifered  the  fewest  obstacles  to  travel.  And  so 
it  came  about  that  all  these  early  routes  of  travel,  which  became  so 
prominent  in  later  times,  were  occupied  by  Indian  trails  when  the  white 
man  first  passed  along  them. 


RECOVERY    OF    THE    TRAIL.  459 

there  Is  no  record  as  to  when  or  by  whom  it  was  opened  up. 
While  Independence  was  the  usual  starting  place,  parties 
frequently  left  the  Missouri  at  Fort  Leavenwoith,  St.  J~ 
seph,  and  Council  Bluffs. 

At  the  period  with  which  this  sketch  closes,  the  Oregon 
Trail  existed  in  its  simple  primary  condition  without  any 
of  the  modification  of  later  times.  As  travel  increased  with 
the  inflow  of  emigrants  numerous  short-cuts  were  intro- 
duced here  and  there,  while  in  some  places  the  road  became 
so  worn  that  new  locations  were  necessary,  and  thus  from 
one  cause  or  another  there  came  to  be  several  parallel  lines 
over  many  portions  of  the  route.  Sometimes  they  were  but 
a  few  hundred  feet  from  each  other;  and  again  they  were 
separated  by  many'^Hiiles  of  distance  and  occasionally  by 
rivers  and  mountains.  In  1843  none  of  these  modifications 
had  been  made,  and  the  route  as  here  given  is  the  original 
line  as  it  first  came  into  general  use.  There  are  fortunately 
several  good  descriptions  of  the  Trail  dating  from  about  this 
time.  Fremont  began  his  explorations  in  1842.  Joel 
Palmer  has  left  a  minute  distance  table  and  description  of  the 
route  as  he  saw  it  in  1845.  Major  Howard  Stansbury  made 
an  official  report  upon  it  from  his  exploration  in  1849  ^^  far 
as  Salt  Lake  valley.  The  data  for  recovering  the  Trail 
within  approximate  limits  are  therefore  ample. 

We  say  "  approximate  limits  "  advisedly,  for  it  would 
be  indeed  a  difficult  matter  to  lay  down  the  old  line  with 
minute  precision.  The  changes  wrought  by  the  settlement 
of  the  country  have  been  too  great.  The  land  surveys  with 
their  rectangular  divisions  have  forced  the  highways  out  of 
their  natural  course  and  in  many  places  the  old  road  has 
long  since  been  plowed  up  and  turned  into  cultivated  ground. 
The  advent  of  railroads  wrought  an  immense  change  in  the 
location  of  names.  Although  many  of  the  old  Trail  names 
survive,  the  towns  which  they  denote  are  rarely  located 
where  the  names  used  to  apply.  They  have  probably  gone 
to  the  nearest  railway  station  which  may  be  several  miles 
away.     From  causes  like  these  the  old  Trail  has  become 


460  A    NATIONAL    ROAD. 

totally  obliterated  and  its  precise  location  lost  over  most  of 
that  portion  between  Independence  on  the  Missouri  and 
Grand  Island  on  the  Platte.  Over  the  rest  of  the  route 
with  few  exceptions  the  location  is  precisely  known,  for  it 
lay  in  river  valleys  and  along  streams  most  of  the  way.  In 
some  places  the  old  road  is  still  visible. 

This  wonderful  highway  was  in  the  broadest  sense  a 
national  road,  although  not  surveyed  or  built  under  the 
auspices  of  the  government.  It  was  the  route  of  a  national 
movement  —  the  migration  of  a  people  seeking  to  avail  itself 
of  opportunities  which  have  come  but  rarely  in  the  history 
of  the  world,  and  which  will  never  come  again.  It  was  a 
route,  every  mile  of  which  has  been  the  scene  of  hardship 
and  suffering,  yet  of  high  purpose  and  stern  determination. 
Only  on  the  steppes  of  Siberia  can  so  long  a  highway  be 
found  over  which  traffic  has  moved  by  a  continuous  journey 
from  one  end  to  the  other.  Even  in  Siberia  there  are  occa- 
sional settlements  along  the  route,  but  on  the  Oregon  Trail 
in  1843  the  traveler  saw  no  evidence  of  civilized  habitation 
except  four  trading  posts,  between  Independence  and  Fort 
Vancouver. 

As  a  highway  of  travel  the  Oregon  Trail  is  the  most  re- 
markable known  to  history.  Considering  the  fact  that  it 
originated  with  the  spontaneous  use  of  travelers;  that  no 
transit  ever  located  a  foot  of  it;  that  no  level  established 
its  grades;  that  no  engineer  sought  out  the  fords  or  built 
any  bridges  or  surveyed  the  mountain  passes  ;  that  there  was 
no  grading  to  speak  of  nor  any  attempt  at  metalling  the 
road-bed ;  and  the  general  good  quality  of  this  two  thou- 
sand miles  of  highway  will  seem  most  extraordinary. 
Father  De  Smet,  who  was  born  in  Belgium,  the  home  of 
good  roads,  pronounced  the  Oregon  Trail  one  of  the  finest 
highways  in  the  world.  At  the  proper  season  of  the  year 
this  was  undoubtedly  true.  Before  the  prairies  became  too 
dry,  the  natural  turf  formed  the  best  roadway  for  horses  to 
travel  on  that  has  probably  ever  been  known.  It  was  am- 
ply hard  to  sustain  traffic,  yet  soft  enough  to  be  easier  to  the 


IMPRESSION    ON    THE    INDIANS.  461 

feet  than  even  the  most  perfect  asphalt  pavement.  Over 
such  roads,  winding  ribbon-Hke  through  the  verdant 
prairies,  amid  the  profusion  of  spring  flowers,  with  grass 
SO  plentiful  that  the  animals  reveled  in  its  abundance,  and 
game  everywhere  greeted  the  hunter's  rifle,  and  finally,  with 
pure  water  in  the  streams,  the  traveler  sped  his  way  with  a 
feeling  of  joy  and  exhilaration.  But  not  so  when  the  prai- 
ries became  dry  and  parched,  the  road  filled  with  stifling 
dust,  the  stream-beds  mere  dry  ravines,  or  carrying  only 
alkaline  water  which  could  not  be  used,  the  game  all  gone  to 
more  hospitable  sections,  and  the  summer  sun  pouring  down 
its  heat  with  torrid  intensity.  It  was  then  that  the  Trail 
became  a  highway  of  desolation,  strewn  with  aban- 
doned property,  the  skeletons  of  horses,  mules,  and 
oxen,  and,  alas !  too  often,  with  freshly-made  mounds 
and  head-boards  that  told  the  pitiful  tale  of  sufferings  too 
great  to  be  endured.  If  the  Trail  was  the  scene  of  romance, 
adventure,  pleasure,  and  excitement,  so  it  was  marked  in 
every  mile  of  its  course  by  human  misery,  tragedy,  and 
death. 

The  immense  travel  which  in  later  years  passed  over 
the  Trail  carved  it  into  a  deep  furrow,  often  with  several 
parallel  tracks  making  a  total  width  of  a  hundred  feet  or 
more.  It  was  an  astonishing  spectacle  even  to  white  men 
when  seen  for  the  first  time.  Captain  Raynolds,  of  the 
Corps  of  Engineers,  United  States  Army,  tells  a  good  story 
on  himself  in  this  connection.  In  the  fall  of  1859  he  came 
south  from  the  Yellowstone  river  along  the  eastern  base  of 
the  Bighorn  mountains  and  struck  the  Trail  somewhere 
above  the  first  ford  of  the  North  Platte.  Before  reaching  it 
he  innocently  asked  his  guide,  Bridger,  if  there  was  any 
danger  of  their  crossing  the  Trail  without  seeing  it! 
Bridger  answered  him  with  only  a  look  of  contemptuous 
amazement. 

It  may  be  easily  imagined  how  great  an  impression  the 
sight  of  this  road  must  have  made  upon  the  minds  of  the 
Indians.     Father  De  Smet  has  recorded  some  interesting 


462  A    NATIONAL    MEMORIAL, 

observations  upon  this  point.  In  1851  he  traveled  in  com- 
pany with  a  large  number  of  Indians  from  the  Missouri 
and  Yellowstone  rivers  to  Fort  Laramie,  where  a  great 
council  was  held  in  that  year  to  form  treaties  with  the 
several  tribes.  Most  of  these  Indians  had  not  been  in  that 
section  before,  and  were  quite  unprepared  for  what  they 
saw.  "  Our  Indian  companions,"  says  Father  De  Smet, 
*'  who  had  never  seen  but  the  narrow  hunting-paths  by 
which  they  transport  themselves  and  their  lodges,  were 
filled  with  admiration  on  seeing  this  noble  highway,  which 
is  as  smooth  as  a  barn  floor  swept  by  the  winds,  and  not  a 
blade  of  grass  can  shoot  up  on  it  on  account  of  the  con- 
tinual passing.  They  conceived  a  high  idea  of  the  count- 
less White  Nation,  as  they  express  it.  They  fancied  that 
all  had  gone  over  that  road,  and  that  an  immense  void  must 
exist  in  the  land  of  the  rising  sun.  Their  countenances  tes- 
tified evident  incredulity  when  I  told  them  that  their  exit  was 
in  nowise  perceived  in  the  land  of  the  whites.  They  styled 
the  route  the  Great  Medicine  Road  of  the  Whites." 

Over  much  of  its  length  the  Trail  is  now  abandoned,  but 
in  many  places  it  is  not  yet  effaced  from  the  soil,  and  may 
not  be  for  centuries.  There  are  few  more  Impressive  sights 
than  portions  of  this  old  highway  today.  It  still  lies  there 
upon  the  prairie,  deserted  by  the  traveler,  an  everlasting  me- 
morial of  the  human  tide  which  once  filled  it  to  overflowing. 
Nature  herself  has  helped  to  perpetuate  this  memorial,  for 
the  prairie  winds,  year  by  year,  carve  the  furrow  more 
deeply,  and  the  wild  sunflower  blossoms  along  its  course,  as 
if  in  silent  memory  of  those  who  sank  beneath  its  burdens. 

But  if  the  Trail,  as  a  continuous  highway  of  travel,  has 
ceased  to  exist,  the  time  will  come,  we  may  confidently 
believe,  when  it  will  be  reoccupied,  never  to  be  abandoned 
again.  It  is  so  occupied  at  the  present  time  over  a  large 
portion  of  its  length.  Railroads  practically  follow  the  old 
line  from  Independence  to  Caspar,  Wyo.,  some  fifty  miles 
east  of  Independence  Rock ;  and  from  Bear  river  on  the 
Utah- Wyoming  line  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.     The 


INDEPENDENCE    AND    WESTPORT.  463 

time  is  not  distant  when  the  intermediate  space  will  be  occu- 
pied, and  possibly  a  continuous  and  unbroken  movement  of 
trains  over  the  entire  line  may  some  day  follow.  In  a 
future  still  more  remote  there  may  be  realized  a  project 
which  is  even  now  being  agitated,  of  building  a  magnificent 
national  road  along  this  line  as  a  memorial  highway  which 
shall  serve  the  future  and  commemorate  the  past. 

The  Oregon  Trail  and  the  Santa  Fe  Trail  were  considered 
as  starting  from  the  vicinity  of  the  mouth  ot  the  Kansas 
river.  Although  the  real  starting  point  was  St.  Louis,  the 
journey  from  that  city  to  the  Kansas  was  generally  made  by 
steamboat.  But  at  the  latter  point  the  course  of  the 
Missouri  turned  very  nearly  due  north  and  no  longer  lay  in 
a  direction  to  accommodate  those  who  were  going  either  to 
Santa  Fe  or  to  the  Columbia.  It  therefore  became  necessary 
to  abandon  the  boats  here  and  organize  land  expeditions. 
Two  towns  grew  up  as  a  consequence  of  this  outfitting  trade 
—  Independence  and  IVestport,  progenitors  of  the  present 
Kansas  City,  Independence  was  the  older  of  the  two  towns. 
In  1825  the  Osage  title  to  the  western  strip  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  v/as  extinguished  and  settlement  began  to  pour 
into  this  territory.  The  town  site  of  Independence  was 
located  on  the  29th  of  March,  1827.  Its  early  growth  was 
largely  due  to  the  Santa  Fe  trade.  Previously  to  the  found- 
ing of  Independence  the  Santa  Fe  expeditions  had  mostly 
started  from  Franklin.  Missouri,  but  now  began  to  outfit  at 
the  point  where  their  route  finally  left  the  river.  Later 
the  Rocky  mountain  and  Columbia  expeditions  came  to 
start  from  the  same  point  and  a  thriving  business  was 
developed  in  making  up  the  various  outfits.  Shops  were 
necessary  for  the  repair  of  wagons  and  the  shoeing  of 
horses.  Warehouses  containing  all  kinds  of  supplies, 
markets  for  the  sale~ofiTor«es  and  mules,  and  establishments 
of  all  sorts  suited  to  the  caravan  trade  of  the  prairies,  made 
their  appearance. 

The  rise  of  Westport  so  close  to  Independence  was  due 
to  the  caprices  of  the  Missouri  river.     That  erratic  stream 


464  OREGON    AND    SANTA    FE    TRAILS. 

destroyed  the  steamboat  landing  of  Independence.  Farther 
up  stream  there  was  a  stable  bank  and  here  the  steamboats 
went.  The  place  was  called  Westport  landing,  and  was  the 
true  beginning  of  the  future  Kansas  City.  Westport  itself 
was  back  some  distance  from  the  landing.  It  was  laid  out 
in  1833  and  grew  rapidly,  diverting  much  of  the  trade  from 
Independence.  The  growth  of  the  latter  town  was  more- 
over much  retarded  by  the  Mormon  agitation  which  raged 
so  fiercely  there  for  a  number  of  years. 

The  early  life  of  both  of  these  towns  depended  almost  en- 
tirely upon  the  trade  along  the  Oregon  and  Santa  Fe  trails, 
and  that  with  the  numerous  tribes  of  Indians  located  in  the 
surrounding  country.  Both  were  outstripped  at  a  later  date 
by  Kansas  City,  which  was  laid  out  in  1838.  Westport  has 
long  since  been  absorbed  by  that  city,  but  the  older  town 
still  retains  its  independence.^ 

Leaving  Independence  the  route  followed  the  old  Santa 
Fe  Trail  for  about  two  days'  journey,  the  points  of  interest 
occurring  as  follows : 

Elm  Grove,  Round  Grove,  or  Caravan  Grove,  as  it  was 
variously  called,  33  ^  miles ;  a  good  camping  ground. 
"  Here  stood  a  venerable  elm  tree  that  must  have  seen  many 
ages."  (Wislizenus.) 

Junction  of  Oregon  and  Santa  Fe  Trails,  41  miles.  The 
Santa  Fe  Trail  being  first  established,  a  sign  board  was  later 
set  up  to  show  where  the  Oregon  Trail  branched  off.  It 
bore  the  simple  legend  "  Road  to  Oregon,"  and,  as  Wisli- 
zenus pertinently  remarks,  "  to  Japan,  China,  and  the  East 
Indies  might  have  been  added."  Surely  so  unostentatious 
a  sign  never  before  nor  since  announced  so  long  a  journey. 
This  point  was  a  little  northwest  of  the  present  town  of 

'The  data  for  this  account  of  Independence  and  Westport  were  de- 
rived from  Messrs.  John  McCoy  of  Independence  and  Phil  E.  Chappell 
and  J.  S.  Chick  of  Kansas  City. 

*  The  distances  here  given  are  from  Independence.  They  are  close 
approximations.  Authorities  for  distances  are  mainly  Fremont,  Stans- 
bury,  Joel  Palmer,  and  the  late  R.  R.  surveys. 


ALONG    THE    LITTLE    BLUE.  465 

Gardner,  Kansas,  the  route  having  already  passed  near  the 
modern  villages  of  Glenn  and  Olathe. 

Wakarusa  Creek,  53  miles.  The  crossing  was  not  far 
from  where  the  railroad  running  south  from  Lawrence, 
Kansas,  now  crosses  the  stream.  The  Trail  then  followed 
for  a  considerable  distance  the  divide  between  the  Wakarusa 
and  the  Kansas. 

Kansas  River,  81  miles.  The  principal  crossing  was  at 
Papin's  Ferry,  where  Topeka,  Kansas,  now  stands.  There 
were  two  other  crossings  five  and  ten  miles  above. 

Turkey  Creek,  95  miles.  This  stream  is  now  marked  as 
Cross  Creek  on  the  U.  S.  Land  Office  map,  and  the  ford  was 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  present  Rossville. 

Little  Vermilion,  119  miles.  Noted  on  some  modern 
maps  as  Red  Vermilion.  This  point  is  in  the  vicinity  of 
Louisville,  Kansas. 

Big  Vermilion,  160  miles.  Now  known  as  the  Black 
Vermilion,  a  tributary  of  the  Big  Blue.  The  crossing  was 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  modern  Bigelow,  Kansas,  and  near 
here  the  road  from  Leavenworth  came  in. 

Big  Blue,  174  miles.  The  ford  was  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Little  Blue.  Eight  miles  beyond  the  Big  Blue  the  road  from 
St.  Joseph  came  in.  The  junction  was  near  Ballard  Falls  as 
given  on  the  Land  Office  maps.  Distance  from  St.  Joseph 
about  100  miles;  from  Leavenworth  about  164  miles. 

Wyeth's  Creek,  208  miles.  A  small  stream  but  an  impor- 
tant name. 

Big  Sandy,  226  miles,  near  its  junction  with  the  Little 
Blue.  The  course  of  the  Trail  since  the  last  station  has  been 
along  the  Little  Blue.  The  Kansas-Nebraska  line  is  crossed 
near  the  97th  meridian. 

Little  Blue,  242  miles.  From  the  mouth  of  the  Big 
Sandy  the  Trail  chords  a  bend  of  the  Little  Blue  and 
strikes  the  stream  a  few  miles  northwest  of  Hebron, 
Nebraska, 

Head  of  Little  Blue,  296  miles.  The  Trail  left  the  Little 
Blue  not  far  from  Leroy,  Nebraska. 


466  BRADY    ISLAND. 

The  Platte  River,  316  miles.  The  Trail  reached  the 
Platte  about  twenty  miles  below  the  head  of  Grand  Island. 
Upon  approaching  the  Platte  the  traveler  came  upon  a  range 
of  low  hills  built  up  by  the  winds  from  the  drifting  sands  of 
the  valley.  These  hills  were  known  in  the  nomenclature  of 
the  Trail  as  the  Coasts  of  the  Platte. 

The  Trail  now  lay  up  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Platte 
to  the  junction  of  the  North  and  South  Forks.  There  is  no 
feature  of  importance  en  route  unless  it  be  Brady  Island, 
which  received  its  name  from  a  lamentable  affair  in  the  early 
days.  The  story  as  told  by  Rufus  Sage  runs  thus :  In  1833 
a  party  of  trappers  was  descending  the  Platte  in  a  boat 
laden  with  furs.  Brady  and  a  companion  had  quarreled  a 
good  deal  en  route  and  were  very  bitter  toward  each  other. 
While  in  camp  on  this  island  the  other  members  of  the  party 
went  out  to  hunt,  leaving  Brady  and  his  enemy  to  guard  the 
boat.  Upon  their  return  they  found  Brady  dead,  having 
been  killed,  according  to  his  companion's  statement,  by  the 
accidental  discharge  of  his  own  gun.  The  party  doubted 
the  truth  of  the  story  but  could  not  disprove  it.  They 
resumed  their  journey  after  burying  Brady,  but  were  soon 
compelled  by  the  shallow  water  to  take  to  the  shore. 
Becoming  destitute  of  provisions  they  separated  and  started 
for  the  settlements,  each  man  by  himself.  The  night  after 
the  separation  the  suspected  murderer  was  trying  to  light  a 
fire  by  the  discharge  of  his  pistol  in  order  to  drive  off  mos- 
quitoes, when  in  some  way  he  discharged  it  into  his  own 
thigh,  inflicting  a  dangerous  wound.  He  lay  there  in 
agony  for  six  days,  when  he  was  found  by  some  Pawnee 
Indians  and  taken  to  the  lodge  of  a  chief.  Here  he  lingered 
for  a  few  days  and  died.  Before  he  died  he  confessed  to 
the  murder  of  Brady. 

Lower  Ford  of  the  South  Platte,  433  miles.  This  car- 
ried the  traveler  into  the  long  and  slender  tongue  of  land 
which  lies  between  the  north  and  south  forks  of  the  Platte. 
After  crossing,  the  road  kept  up  the  north  bank  of  the 
South  Fork  for  a  considerable  distance,  and  then  turning 


CHIMNEY    ROCK.  467 

to  the  northwest,  reached  the  North  Fork  near  the  mouth 
of  Ash  creek.  Travelers  more  generally,  however,  crossed 
the  South  Fork  at  the 

Upper  Ford  of  the  South  Platte,  493  miles.  At  this 
point  the  road  to  the  trading  posts  near  the  headwaters  of 
the  South  Platte  left  the  Trail  and  continued  up  the  south 
bank  of  the  river.  This  road  also  led  to  the  headwaters 
of  the  Arkansas,  to  Bent's  Fort,  and  to  Taos  and  Santa  Fe. 

Ash  Creek,  or  Ash  Hollozv,  513  miles.  It  was  here  that 
the  Trail  touched  the  North  Fork. 

Court  House  Rock,  555  miles.  The  Trail  is  now  passing 
through  a  section  of  country  where  the  rocks  have  been 
worn  into  a  great  variety  of  fantastic  forms,  some  of  which 
were  given  names  by  the  earliest  explorers  which  they  retain 
to  this  day.  Gonneville  Creek,  near  which  Court  House 
Rock  stands,  was  the  name  properly  applied  to  what  is  now 
Pumpkin  creek.  It  was  named  for  a  trapper  who  was 
killed  there  by  the  Indians  in  the  early  thirties. 

Chimney  Rock,  571  miles.  This  formation  was  one  of 
the  well-known  landmarks  of  the  Trail.  It  was  a  cylindri- 
cal tower  of  rock  rising  from  the  top  of  a  conical  hill. 
Authorities  vary  as  to  its  height.  Rufus  Sage  gives  it 
(1841)  as  three  hundred  feet  for  the  hill  and  two  hundred 
feet  for  the  tower.  All  observers  agree  that  the  tower  has 
diminished  greatly  in  height  since  it  was  first  seen  by 
white  men.  Sage  says  that  when  he  saw  it  the  loss  since 
1 83 1  amounted  to  about  fifty  feet,  which  led  him  to  rumi- 
nate upon  what  its  height  must  have  been  no  longer  ago  than 
"  a  couple  of  centuries  "  ! 

Scott's  Bluffs,  616  miles.  After  leaving  Chimney  Rock 
and  proceeding  about  fifteen  miles  the  Trail  bore  away 
from  the  river,  returning  to  it  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Scott's  BlufTs.  The  whole  distance  was  full  of  interest 
owing  to  the  fantastic  and  wonderful  forms  of  the  rocks 
already  alluded  to. 

The  name,  Scott's  BlufTs,  arose  from  one  of  the  most 
melancholy  incidents  in  the  history  of  the  fur  trade.     The 


468  scott's  bluffs. 

story  has  been  often  and  variously  told,  but  the  most  com- 
plete account  is  that  given  by  Irving  in  his  Captain  Bon- 
neville. It  appears  that  a  party  of  trappers  was  descend- 
ing from  the  upper  Platte  in  canoes,  when  their  boat  was 
upset  in  some  rapids  above  the  Laramie  river,  and  all  their 
powder  was  spoiled  and  their  provisions  lost.  Deprived  of 
the  means  both  of  sustenance  and  defense  their  plight  was  a 
desperate  one.  To  add  to  their  misfortune  one  of  the  party 
by  the  name  of  Scott  fell  seriously  ill  at  Laramie  Fork  and 
was  unable  to  proceed.  His  companions  were  in  great  dis- 
tress to  know  what  to  do,  when  some  of  their  number  came 
upon  a  fresh  trail  of  white  men  leading  down  the  river.  It 
was  of  the  last  importance  to  overtake  this  party  and  share 
their  protection.  But  Scott  could  not  move.  In  this 
dilemma  the  other  members  of  the  party,  absenting  them- 
selves on  the  plea  of  securing  food,  deliberately  deserted 
Scott  and  made  haste  to  overtake  the  advance  party.  In  this 
they  succeeded,  but  instead  of  returning  for  the  sick  man, 
they  represented  that  he  had  died  of  disease.  Nothing 
further  was  thought  of  it  at  the  time.  In  the  following  year 
some  of  the  members  of  the  party,  returning  with  others  to 
the  mountains,  came  upon  a  human  skeleton  in  the  vicinity  of 
Scott's  Bluffs.  It  proved  to  be  the  remains  of  Scott,  and  it 
was  clear  that  the  wretched  man  had  crawled  this  immense 
distance  of  upwards  of  forty  miles  before  death  overtook 
him.  How  the  above  facts  came  to  light  is  not  known,  for 
it  would  seem  that  nothing  short  of  a  deathbed  confession 
could  wrest  the  truth  from  men  guilty  of  so  base  a  desertion. 
By  some  accounts  Scott  is  mentioned  as  a  trader,  and  by 
one  as  the  leader  of  the  party.  The  name  is  occasionally 
seen  in  the  early  correspondence  and  it  is  quite  probable  that 
he  was  a  man  of  some  standing  in  the  mountains.  Just 
when  the  event  happened  is  likewise  uncertain,  but  probably 
as  early  as  1830.  Irving,  narrating  Bonneville's  journey 
in  1832,  speaks  of  it  as  having  taken  place  "  a  number  of 
years  "  before.^ 

*  Ferris,  Life  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  says  Scott  was  a  clerk  in  the 
Am.  F.  Co.  returning  from  the  mountains  and  that  he  fell  ill  and  the 


LARAMIE    RIVER.  469 

Horse  Creek,  630  miles. 

Laramie  River,  at  Fort  John  or  Laramie,  667  miles. 
Laramie  river  takes  its  name  from  a  trapper  by  the  name 
of  Larame,  Joseph  Laramee,  as  one  writer  gives  it,  who  lost 
his  life  on  the  stream  in  1821.  The  name  was  a  frequent 
one  among  the  voyageurs,  and  is  often  met  with  in  the 
American  Fur  Company  correspondence. 

The  confluence  of  the  Laramie  and  the  Platte  was  a  point 
of  great  importance  in  the  history  of  the  Trail.  The  route 
here  left  the  plains  and  entered  the  mountainous  country. 
The  next  point  where  repairs  could  be  made  or  supplies  pro- 
cured, was  Fort  Bridger,  394  miles  beyond.  There  was 
always  a  stop  of  some  duration  at  Fort  Laramie,  a  general 
overhauling  and  rearrangement  of  cargoes,  and  a  much- 
needed  respite  from  the  continuous  strain  of  daily  travel. 
It  was  here  too  that  the  American  Fur  Company  connection 
with  Fort  Pierre  and  the  Missouri  river  came  in. 

The  Trail  from  Council  Bluffs,  which  was  much  used, 
held  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Platte  until  above  the  mouth 
of  the  Laramie,  when  it  made  the  crossing. 

Upon  leaving  the  Laramie  the  Trail  continued  up  the 
valley  of  the  North  Platte,  although  the  rugged  character  of 
the  country  often  forced  it  back  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  stream.  In  fact  it  at  once  passed  on  to  the  plateau 
between  the  Platte  and  the  Laramie  and  did  not  follow  the 
immediate  bank  of  the  river  for  a  considerable  distance. 
The  first  important  point  was 

Big  Spring,  680  miles.  This  spring  was  also  called 
Warm  Spring.  It  was  in  the  valley  of  a  "  dry  "  stream 
about  three  miles  from  the  Platte.     Five  miles  beyond  this 

leader  of  the  party  was  compelled  to  leave  him  in  order  to  push  on 
and  overhaul  another  party.  The  leader  agreed  to  wait  at  these  bluffs 
until  Scott  should  come  along.  He  left  Scott  with  two  men  to  be 
brought  down  in  a  bullboat,  but  the  boat  was  soon  wrecked  and  lost 
with  everything  in  it,  even  the  arms  and  ammunition.  The  two  men 
then  forsook  their  companion  and  overtook  the  main  party  several  days 
later.  The  leader  had  not  stopped  where  he  agreed.  Scott's  bones 
were  found  the  following  spring  near  the  agreed  place  of  waiting. 


470  ALONG    THE    NORTH    PLATTE. 

the  road  forked  and  there  were  two  roads  for  a  distance. 
The  first  point  of  interest  on  the  right  hand  road  was 

Bitter  Cottonivood  Creek,  690  miles.  So  called  from  a 
species  of  poplar  which  Fremont  calls  Hard  amere.  He 
called  the  creek  Fourche  Amcre. 

Horse  Shoe  Creek,  704  miles.  This  was  a  considerable 
stream  with  good  timber  and  pasturage.  The  Trail  is  three 
miles  from  the  river. 

From  Horse  Shoe  Creek  the  road  bore  toward  the  river 
w^hich  was  reached  in  a  distance  of  eight  miles  and  was  fol- 
lowed for  eight  miles  more.  This  part  of  the  route  was 
through  the  beautiful  lower  Platte  canon,  where  the  Chey- 
enne and  Northern  Railroad  now  runs. 

La  Bontc  Creek,  733  miles.  The  left  hand  branch  of  the 
road  rejoined  the  main  line  between  this  and 

Wagon-hound  Creek,  736  miles.  The  distance  by  the 
two  roads  was  about  the  same. 

La  Prcle  Creek,  752  miles,  not  known  in  that  day  ( 1843) 
by  its  present  name.  The  road  is  some  distance  back  from 
the  river,  but  touches  its  banks  twelve  miles  bevond. 

Deer  Creek,  769  miles.  This  is  the  largest  tributary  of 
the  Platte  since  leaving  the  Laramie.  It  was  an  important 
camping  place  on  the  Trail  during  the  whole  emigration 
period.  A  ferry  over  the  Platte  was  later  established  just 
above  this  point. 

Ford  of  the  Platte,  794  miles.  This  was  the  best  ford  on 
this  part  of  the  river,  and  was  a  little  above  the  present  vil- 
lage of  Caspar,  Wyoming.  In  later  years  a  road  w^as  much 
used  along  the  right  or  south  bank  of  the  river  to  opposite 
the  mouth  of  Poison  Spider  creek,  but  it  was  not  used  in 
the  earlier  history  of  the  Trail. 

Red  Spring,  802  miles.     Near  Red  l^>uttes. 

Poison  Spider  Creek,  807  miles.  The  road  is  now  a  little 
back  from  the  river  and  here  leaves  it  altogether,  crossing 
the  angle  between  the  Platte  and  the  Sweetwater.  It  passes 
here,  although  not  within  sight,  one  of  the  finest  canons  in 
the  world,  where  the  river  cuts  through  mountains  of  red 
sandstone.     This  was  the  Fiery  Narrows  of  the  Astorians, 


INDEPENDENCE    ROCK.  47 1 

and  it  was  here  that  Fremont  was  shipwrecked  in  trying  to 
pass  with  a  canoe  in  1842.  The  valley  of  the  Platte  here 
turns  squarely  to  the  south,  and  the  main  river  finds  its 
source  afar  off  in  the  North  Park  of  Colorado.  The  river 
is  no  longer  followed  by  the  Trail  which  continues  west- 
ward. 

Independence  Rock,  838  miles.  This  is  another  impor- 
tant point  in  the  journey,  for  it  introduces  the  traveler  into 
the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Sweetwater  river.  The  name  of 
this  stream  dates  from  the  period  of  Ashley's  expeditions. 
A  fitting  explanation  of  its  origin  might  easily  be  given 
even  in  the  absence  of  any  historic  data.  The  water  in  the 
adjacent  country  for  many  miles  around  was  so  impregnated 
with  alkaline  salts  as  to  be  unfit  to  drink.  The  thirsty 
traveler,  coming  suddenly  upon  this  stream  of  pure  moun- 
tain water,  would  very  naturally  by  contrast  call  it  the 
Sweetwater.  But  the  French  name,  which  was  the  first 
given,  was  not  Eau  Douce,  but  Eau  Sucree,  sugared  water, 
and  arose,  according  to  Ferris,  from  the  fact  that  in  the  very 
early  years,  certainly  before  1830,  a  pack  mule  laden  with 
sugar  was  lost  in  the  stream. 

Independence  Rock  was  a  famous  landmark.  It  is  an 
immense  oblong  block  of  oval,  but  irregular  shape,  along 
the  southern  base  of  which  lay  the  river  and  along  the 
northern  base  the  old  Trail.  It  covers  an  area  of  over 
twenty-seven  acres  and  its  highest  point  is  155  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  river.  It  is  wholly  isolated  and  looks  as  if 
it  had  been  dropped  there  in  the  midst  of  the  plain.  The  site 
of  the  rock  became  from  the  first  a  great  camping  place,  and 
the  custom  early  arose  of  inscribing  on  it  the  names  of 
travelers  who  passed  it.  It  was  thus,  as  Father  De  Smet 
justly  observes,  "  the  great  register  of  the  desert." 

The  name  is  of  very  early  date,  probably  before  1830,  and 
if  so,  coming  from  the  Ashley  expeditions.  The  incident 
which  gave  rise  to  it  is  well  known,  from  various  references, 
all  of  which  indicate  that  a  party  of  hunters  encamped  at  the 
base  of  this  rock  on  a  Fourth  of  July  and  here  celebrated  the 


472  FREMONT    AT    THE    ROCK. 

anniversary  of  the  country's  independence.  Sage  says  that 
"  it  derived  its  name  from  a  party  of  Americans  on  their 
way  to  Oregon  under  the  lead  of  one  Tharp,  who  celebrated 
the  Fourth  of  July  at  this  place  —  they  being  the  first  com- 
pany of  whites  that  ever  made  the  journey  from  the  States 
via  South  Pass."  As  Oregon  then  included  everything  west 
of  South  Pass,  this  may  very  likely  refer  to  the  first  Ashley 
party  that  followed  this  route,  probably  in  1823.  The 
name  Tharp  occurs  elsewhere  in  narratives  of  the  time,  but 
its  use  here  may  possibly  be  a  misprint  for  the  well-known 
name  Fraeb,  always  called  Frapp  by  the  trappers.  The 
statement  itself  is  entirely  probable.  Sage  says  that  *'  the 
surface  [of  the  rock]  is  covered  with  the  names  of  travelers, 
traders,  trappers,  emigrants,  engraven  upon  it  in  almost 
every  conceivable  part  for  the  distance  of  many  feet  above 
its  base  —  but  most  prominent  among  them  all  is  the  word 
*  Independence,'  inscribed  by  the  patriotic  band  who  first 
christened  this  lone  monument  of  nature  in  honor  of  Lib- 
erty's birthday."  This  is  confirmed  by  Farnham  who  refers 
to  the  rock  as  "  a  large  rock,  oval  in  form,  on  which  the  old 
trappers  many  years  ago  carved  the  word  '  Independence ' 
and  their  own  names." 

While  the  general  explanation  above  given,  that  a  party 
here  celebrated  the  Fourth  of  July  and  gave  the  rock  its 
name,  is  undoubtedly  correct,  many  and  amusing  are  the 
theories  which  have  gained  currency  concerning  its  origin. 
Mr.  John  B.  Wyeth  sagely  informs  us  that  it  was  the  "  rest- 
ing place  of  Lewis  and  Clark  on  the  4th  of  July  " !  One 
of  the  old  residents  still  living  in  this  locality  is  always  ready 
to  entertain  the  ignorant  visitor  with  an  authentic  account  of 
how  the  rock  came  to  get  its  name.  It  was  on  the  occasion 
of  General  Fremont's  first  exploring  tour  to  the  Rocky 
mountains.^  Word  was  given  out  that  the  General  would 
be  at  the  rock,  as  yet  unnamed,  on  the  Fourth  of  July  and 

^  The  Lieutenant  and  Brevet-Captain  at  that  time  saw  no  general's 
stars  in  his  immediate  horoscope.  Beyond  the  achievement  of  having 
married  Senator  Benton's  daughter  there  had  not  been -much  in  his 
career  so  far  to  give  his  name  wide  celebrity. 


OTHER    AUTHENTIC    ACCOUNTS.  473 

would  deliver  an  oration.  Swift  couriers  rode  up  and  down 
the  Trail  urging  the  emigrants  who  were  ahead  to  lay  by  at 
the  rock  and  those  in  the  rear  to  make  haste  and  catch  up. 
To  hear  a  man  of  ''General"  Fremont's  reputation  was  an 
opportunity  not  to  be  missed,  and  there  was  consequently 
a  great  concourse  of  travelers  present  when  the  orator  and 
the  day  arrived.  The  enthusiastic  admirers  of  the  renowned 
warrior  bestirred  themselves  vigorously  and  hauled  up  the 
steep  sides  of  the  rock  the  best  carriage  they  had.  In  this 
the  General  was  drawn  back  and  forth  along  the  summit  of 
the  rock.  He  then  discoursed  to  the  eager  crowd  upon  the 
greatness  of  the  day.  After  he  was  done  six  couples  of 
plighted  lovers  ascended  to  the  summit  of  the  rock,  and 
there,  on  this  sublime  natural  altar,  surrendered  their  inde- 
pendence pair  by  pair  in  voluntary  bondage  to  each  other. 
The  glorious  record  of  these  proceedings  was  perpetuated 
from  that  day  forth  in  the  name  of  the  rock. 

Less  elaborate,  but  not  less  to  the  point,  is  the  explanation 
given  by  another  local  authority  who  assures  the  visitor 
with  the  utmost  gravity  that  the  rock  derives  its  name  from 
the  fact  that  it  stands  out  in  the  plain  independent  of  all  sur- 
rounding rocks  or  mountains !  After  all,  this  explanation 
will  not  seem  so  absurd  when  it  is  remembered  that  it 
occurred  to  so  eminent  an  observer  as  Father  De  Smet  when 
he  first  saw  the  rock. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  Masons  have  a  tradition  that 
the  name  came  from  the  fact  that  the  rites  of  their  order 
were  once  celebrated  upon  this  rock  on  the  nation's  birthday. 

The  Devil's  Gate,  843  miles.  This  remarkable  feature  is 
a  rift  in  a  granite  ridge  through  which  the  river  flows.  It 
is  about  four  hundred  feet  deep,  with  sides  nearly  vertical, 
and  less  than  three  hundred  feet  apart  at  the  top.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  notable  features  of  its  kind  in  the  world.  The 
traveler  who  takes  the  trouble  to  leave  the  road  for  a  mile  or 
so  and  walk  out  to  the  summit  of  the  Devil's  Gate  is 
rewarded  with  a  prospect  such  as  no  other  point  on  the 
Trail    affords.     Beneath    him    is    the    tremendous    chasm 


474  ALONG    THE    SWEETWATER. 

through  the  soHd  granite  at  the  bottom  of  which  courses  the 
gentle  Sweetwater.  To  the  westward  a  magnificent  valley 
spreads  out  before  him  as  far  as  he  can  see,  some  ten  or  fif- 
teen miles  wide,  a  paradise  in  those  days  for  buffalo  and 
other  game.  Through  the  beautiful  valley  the  serpentine 
course  of  the  stream  is  plainly  visible  from  the  silver  sheen 
of  its  surface  or  from  the  ribbon  of  foliage  which  grows 
along  its  banks.  Below  the  Gate  a  similar  valley  lies  spread 
out  for  many  miles  even  to  the  mouth  of  the  river.  All  over 
this  region  huge  protuberances  arise  composed  of  detached 
masses  of  granite,  the  most  interesting  of  which  is  Inde- 
pendence Rock.  Lifting  the  eye  above  the  surrounding 
plains  it  rests  upon  a  cordon  of  mountains  which  completely 
encircles  the  beholder.  To  the  northeast  the  Rattlesnake 
Hills,  to  the  east  the  Caspar  range  through  which  the  North 
Platte  flows;  to  the  southeast  the  Seminole  and  Ferris 
ranges;  to  the  south  and  southwest  the  Green  mountains; 
and  finally  to  the  west  Crooks'  Peak,  which  closes  the  hori- 
zon in  that  direction.  Near  this  peak  is  a  little  depression 
through  which  the  returning  Astorians  made  their  way 
from  the  forbidding  and  desert  tracts  south  of  the  moun- 
tains. One  has  only  to  behold  the  valley  of  the  Sweetwater 
to  understand  with  what  delight  these  way-worn  travelers 
must  have  welcomed  this  paradise  of  the  mountains,  filled 
as  it  was,  when  they  saw  it,  with  grazing  herds  of  buffalo,, 
and  water  and  pasturage  surpassing  all  their  possible  needs. 
From  the  Devil's  Gate  the  route  continued  along  the 
Sweetwater  river  nearly  to  its  source.  It  crossed  the 
stream  several  times  and  there  came  to  be  two  or  three  differ- 
ent routes  paralleling  each  other  for  considerable  distances. 
It  will  not  be  of  profit  to  record  minutely  these  unimportant 
variations  from  the  general  line.  About  thirty-six  miles 
west  of  the  Devil's  Gate  the  road  passed  through  a  cafion, 
where  it  crossed  the  stream  three  times  in  a  short  distance. 
This  place  was  called  Three  Crossings.  In  several  places 
the  road  was  forced  out  upon  the  hills  and  back  from  the 
river,  sometimes  on  one  side  and  sometimes  on  the  other. 


SOUTH    PASS.  475 

The  road  was  usually  dusty,  the  small  streams  alkaline,  and 
only  the  presence  of  the  pure  Sweetwater  saved  this  portion 
of  the  Trail  from  being  the  most  trying  of  any. 

South  Pass,  947  miles.  (Fremont  gives  962  miles.) 
"  Here  hail  Oregon,"  as  the  itinerary  of  Palmer  has  it. 
This  is  the  most  celebrated  pass  in  the  entire  length  of  the 
Continental  Divide.  Here  the  great  trans-continental  road 
passed  from  Atlantic  to  Pacific  waters,  and  the  traveler, 
though  only  half-way  to  his  destination,  felt  that  he  could 
see  the  beginning  of  the  end.  The  pass  itself,  as  a  natural 
feature,  is  perhaps  less  striking  and  interesting  than  any 
other.  It  is  less  than  7,500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
It  is  one  of  the  few  passes  that  are  free  of  timber.  There 
is  no  well-defined  gorge  through  the  hills,  but  a  broad,  open 
valley  of  so  gentle  slope  that  Fremont  in  his  explorations 
was  in  doubt  what  was  the  highest  point.  As  a  practicable 
pass  either  for  a  highway  or  a  railroad,  it  could  hardly  be 
surpassed.  The  distances  from  Independence  and  Fort 
Vancouver  were  nearly  equal,  so  that  it  was  in  a  strict  sense 
a  half-way  point. 

The  discovery  of  the  pass  is  lost  in  the  historic  obscurity 
of  this  early  period.  The  returning  party  of  the  Astorians 
came  very  near  passing  through  it,  but  were  deflected  from 
the  route  by  the  fear  of  following  too  closely  a  band  of 
Indians.  They  accordingly  passed  considerably  south 
before  turning  east.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Parker  in  1835 
refers  1.0  this  fact  in  the  following  words :  "  The  valley, 
was  not  discovered  until  some  years  since.  Mr.  Hunt 
[Stuart,  rather]  and  his  party,  more  than  twenty  years  ago, 
went  near  but  did  not  find  it,  though  in  search  of  some 
favorable  passage."  The  pass  was  most  probably  discov- 
ered in  1823  by  one  of  Henry's  detached  parties,  who  are 
known  to  have  visited  Green  river  valley  from  the  Bighorn 
in  that  year.  Tradition  says  that  it  was  discovered  by 
Etienne  Provost,  and  this  was  probably  the  case. 

The  name  was  virtually  given  before  the  pass  was  dis- 
covered.    It  was  long  recognized  that  a  pass  must  be  found 


476  ON    THE    PACIFIC    SLOPE. 

south  of  those  crossed  by  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  Southern 
Pass,  in  contradistinction  to  the  northern  pass,  was  a  term 
already  coined  and  in  waiting  for  the  situation  when  it 
should  be  discovered.  There  is  evidence  that  it  had  already 
been  applied  to  two  other  passes,  before  South  Pass  proper 
was  discovered.  But  when  that  remarkable  crossing-  of  the 
mountains  came  into  use  the  name  fell  naturally  upon  it,  and 
this  in  common  usage  was  quickly  abbreviated  to  South 
Pass. 

The  Trail  now  lies  upon  the  Pacific  slope  and  bears  off 
to  the  southwest.     The  first  point  of  note  was  the 

Pacific  Springs,  952  miles,  the  first  water  of  the  Pacific 
ocean. 

The  Little  Sandy,  a  tributary  of  the  Big  Sandy,  969 
miles.     Here  was  the  junction  with  Sublette's  Cut-Off. 

Big  Sandy,  985  miles.     Thence  down  the  Big  Sandy  to 

Green  River,  1,014  miles.  That  portion  of  the  route  from 
South  Pass  to  Green  river  was  very  disagreeable,  being 
mainly  through  a  dry,  barren,  sandy  country,  in  which  the 
heat  and  dust  of  summer  were  almost  overpowering.  Green 
river  was  forded  near  the  mouth  of  the  Sandy.  The  route 
then  lay  along  the  right  bank  of  the  river  for  a  short  distance 
when  it  crossed  to 

Black  Fork,  1,033  miles.  This  was  three  miles  below 
the  junction  with  Ham's  Fork,  an  important  stream  in  those 
days.  Before  the  founding  of  Fort  Bridger  the  Trail  went 
up  the  valley  of  Ham's  Fork  on  its  way  to  Bear  river.  Here 
also  passes  the  Oregon  Short  Line  railroad  of  recent  years 
and  the  junction  with  the  Union  Pacific,  at  Granger,  is  very 
nearly  where  the  old  Trail  struck  Black  Fork. 

Fort  Bridger,  1.070  miles.  This  was  the  second  great 
stopping  place  on  the  Trail  and  the  first  after  leaving  Fort 
Laramie.  The  post  was  built  by  James  Bridger  in  1843  ^"^ 
we  are  fortunate  in  having  the  founder's  own  narrative  of 
the  event.  "  I  have  established  a  small  fort,"  he  wrote  to 
Chouteau,  December  10,  1843,  "  with  a  blacksmith  shop  and 
a  supply  of  iron,  on  the  road  of  the  emigrants  on  Black's 


FORT    BRIDGER.  477 

Fork  of  Green  river,  which  promises  fairly.  They,  in  com- 
ing out,  are  generally  well  supplied  with  money,  but  by  the 
time  they  get  there  are  in  want  of  all  kinds  of  supplies. 
Horses,  provisions,  smith-work,  etc.,  bring  ready  cash  from 
them,  and  should  I  receive  the  goods  hereby  ordered  will  do 
a  considerable  business  in  that  way  with  them.  The  same 
establishment  trades  with  the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood 
who  have  mostly  a  good  number  of  beaver  with  them." 

The  post  was  in  a  beautiful  location  in  the  valley  of  a 
strong  mountain  stream  whose  pure  waters,  fresh  from  the 
melting  snows  of  the  Uintah  mountains,  and  alive  with 
wholesome  mountain  trout,  flowed  through  the  post  in  sev- 
eral branches,  each  lined  with  a  fringe  of  trees  kept  alive  by 
the  perennial  moisture  of  the  soil.  It  was  veritably  an  oasis 
in  the  desert,  and  its  selection  does  great  credit  to  the  good 
judgment  of  its  founder. 

Having  again  arranged  his  outfit,  repaired  his  wagons, 
rested  his  stock  and  replenished  his  supplies,  the  traveler 
resumed  his  way,  arriving  first  at  the 

Big  Muddy,  i,o88  miles.  Following  this  stream  towards 
its  source  for  thirty-two  miles  and  then  crossing  the  divide 
and  traveling  sixteen  miles  farther,  a  part  of  the  way  in  the 
valley  of  Twin  creek,  where  the  Oregon  Short  Line  now 
runs,  the  traveler  reached 

Bear  River,  1,136  miles,  about  where  the  Oregon  Short 
Line  now  touches  the  stream.  This  noteworthy  stream 
finds  its  source  nearly  east  of  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  and 
flows  north  through  almost  two  degrees  of  latitude,  when 
it  turns  completely  around  to  the  westward  and  flows  south 
for  upwards  of  one  hundred  miles  into  Great  Salt  Lake. 
From  the  point  where  the  old  Trail  touched  it  to  that  where 
it  turns  south,  its  course  lay  nearly  on  the  direct  line  between 
Forts  Bridger  and  Hall.  Affording  as  it  did  an  easy  pas- 
sage through  the  mountain  ranges  of  that  region,  it  was 
always  followed  by  the  emigrants  and  is  followed  by  the 
railroad  today.  The  Trail  therefore  descended  the  course 
of  Bear  river.     At  the  distance  of  ten  miles  was  the 


478  ALONG    BEAR    RIVER. 

Junction  with  Sublette's  Cut-Off,  1,146  miles. 

Sublette's  Cut-Off,  or  the  "  Dry  Drive,"  as  it  was  called 
on  account  of  the  long  stretch  of  waterless  country  between 
the  Big  Sandy  and  Green  river,  was  designed  to  eliminate 
the  wide  detour  caused  by  going  to  Fort  Bridger.  It  left 
the  main  road  at  Little  Sandy,  969  miles,  and  taking  a 
course  nearly  due  west,  reached  the 

Big  Sandy,  975  miles,  and 

Green  River,  1,021  miles,  just  above  the  junction  of 
Labarge  creek,  which  comes  in  from  the  west.  The  road 
then  bore  to  the  southwest  across  Labarge  and  Fontenelle 
creeks.  It  crossed  Ham's  Fork  some  distance  above  the 
point  where  the  modern  railroad  leaves  it,  and  then  wound 
its  way  through  the  mountains  with  a  slight  trend  to  the 
north  until  it  reached 

Bear  River,  1,093  niiles.  The  cut-off  therefore  saved 
fifty-three  miles,  but  missed  the  supply  point  at  Fort  Bridger. 

Resuming  the  main  trail  with  the  Fort  Bridger  itinerary 
[the  next  notable  point  was 

Smith's  Fork,  1,149  rniles.  This  name  also  dates  from 
the  Ashley  period  and  most  probably  was  in  honor  of  the 
famous  adventurer,  J.  S.  Smith,  although  there  was  another 
Smith  in  the  Ashley  expeditions  of  this  period. 

Thompson's  Fork,  1,156  miles.  This  name,  like  the  pre- 
ceding one,  belongs  to  the  period  of  Ashley's  expeditions, 
and  was  given  for  one  of  his  trappers.  There  were  two 
branches  to  the  road  in  this  vicinity.  The  northern  branch 
ascended  Thompson's  Fork  about  two  miles,  climbed  over 
the  hill  a  distance  of  five  miles,  where  the  two  branches 
united  on  the  right  bank  of  Bear  river.  The  other  branch 
forded  the  river  near  Thompson's  Fork,  followed  around  a 
sharp  southern  bend  where  Nephur,  Utah,  now  is,  and 
finally,  after  a  distance  of  seventeen  miles,  rejoined  the 
northern  branch  upon  the  right  bank.  The  short  cut  had 
a  severe  hill  to  contend  with ;  the  other  branch  had  two 
fords  and  seventeen  against  seven  miles. 

Continuing,  the  road  reached 


FORT    HALL.  479 

Soda  Springs,  1,206  miles,  at  the  great  northern  bend  of 
Bear  river.  This  noted  place,  which  was  also  known  as 
Beer  Springs,  was  an  example  of  what  is  found  on  a  stupen- 
dous scale  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Yellowstone.  It  was 
an  object  of  great  curiosity  to  travelers.  There  were  nu- 
merous hot  springs,  differing  widely  in  character  and  ap- 
pearance, and  there  was  one  miniature  geyser  erupting  to  a 
height  of  about  three  feet  at  regular  intervals.  The  noise 
accompanying  these  pulsations  caused  it  to  be  named  the 
Steamboat  Spring. 

After  satisfying  his  curiosity  at  this  singular  place  the 
traveler  resumed  his  journey  down  the  river.  In  about 
four  miles  the  road  parted  company  with  Bear  river  which 
here  turned  abruptly  to  the  south.  Continuing  westwardly 
for  a  few  miles  the  road  passed  over  the  Divide  between  Bear 
river  and  the 

Portneuf  River,  a  water  of  the  Columbia.  This  beautiful 
stream  has  one  peculiar  feature  which  is  rarely  seen  on  any 
other.  Its  flow  is  constantly  interrupted  by  low  rock 
dams  of  very  irregular  outline,  which  have  been  formed  by 
some  process  not  easy  to  account  for.  These  dams  convert 
the  river  into  a  series  of  quiet  pools  separated  by  cascades 
of  exquisite  beauty,  varying  in  height  from  an  inch  to  four 
feet. 

There  was  another  and  a  shorter  road  which  did  not 
follow  the  Portneuf,  but  crossed  its  upper  branches  and  en- 
tered the  Snake  river  plain  along  the  valley  of  Ross  Fork. 
The  distance  by  the  Portneuf  route,  which  was  that  usually 
taken,  was  about  80  miles ;  that  by  the  other  about  70  miles. 

Fort  Hall,  1,288  miles  (Fremont  1,323  miles)  was  located 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Snake  river,  nine  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Portneuf  in  the  fine  bottom  formed  by  the  con- 
fluence of  these  two  streams.  This  was  the  third  important 
station  on  the  Trail  and  the  first  on  Columbian  waters.  It 
was  the  first  post  on  the  route  that  belonged  to  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company.  Here  the  traveler  made  his  preparations  for 
the  last  stage  of  the  journey  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia. 


480  ALONG    SNAKE    RIVER. 

Oftentimes  wagons  were  left  here  and  pack  horses  substi- 
tuted, but  as  the  road  became  better  known,  wagons  were 
taken  clear  through.  From  Fort  Hall  the  route  lay  along 
the  left  bank  of  the  Snake.  The  first  feature  of  importance 
was  the 

Portneuf  Crossing,  1,294  miles,  and  the  next, 

American  Falls,  1,308  miles.  This  fall  is  said  to  have  de- 
rived its  name  from  the  fact  that  a  party  of  American  hunt- 
ers, descending  the  river  in  a  canoe,  came  unawares  upon  it 
and  were  all  lost. 

Raft  River,  1,334  miles.  Here  the  California  road  turned 
off  in  1846.6 

Marsh  Creek,  1,350  miles.  This  part  of  the  Trail  was 
well  back  from  the  river. 

Goose  Creek,  1,367  miles,  part  of  the  distance  from  the 
last  station  being  along  the  river. 

Rock  Creek,  1,391  miles.  The  road  touched  the  river  at 
one  intermediate  point.  After  reaching  Rock  creek  it  fol- 
lowed the  valley  of  this  stream  for  fifteen  miles  and  in 
twenty  miles  more  reached 

Salmon  Falls  Creek,  1,433  miles. 

Salmon  Falls,  1,439  niiles.  Beyond  this  point  the  road 
chorded  some  bends  in  the  river  and  at  a  distance  of  twenty- 
three  miles  reached  the 

First  Crossing  of  the  Snake,  i  ,464  miles,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  modern  Glenn's  Ferry.  It  then  struck  across 
the  country  in  a  northwesterly  direction  with  no  feature  of 
interest  until  it  reached 

Boise  River,  1,537  miles,  about  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mod- 
ern Boise  City.  The  road  then  turned  to  the  west  down  the 
valley  of  the  Boise  which  it  followed  to 

Fort  Boise,  1,585  miles,  a  Hudson  Bay  Company  post 
located  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Snake  river,  eight  miles 
below   the   mouth   of  the   Boise.     The   Snake  was   again 

'  At  the  date  of  1843,  the  California  Trail  which  passed  by  the  north- 
western extremity  of  Great  Salt  Lake  had  scarcely  come  into  use  at 
all,  and  we  have  therefore  not  attempted  to  follow  it. 


THE    GRANDE    RONDE.  48 1 

crossed  at  this  point  after  which  the  road  turned  to  the 
northwest,  bearing  away  from  the  river.  At  fifteen  miles  it 
crossed 

Malheur  River,  i,6oi  miles,  near  the  modern  town  of 
Vale,  Oregon.  The  road  again  touched  the  Snake  about 
twenty-three  miles  beyond  the  Malheur  and  five  miles  farther 
reached 

Burnt  River,  1,632  miles.  It  then  ascended  Burnt  river 
for  about  twenty-  six  miles,  and  crossing  a  divide,  reached 

Pozvder  River,  1,692  miles.  At  the  point  where  the  Trail 
touched  Powder  river  there  stood  in  early  days  a  solitary 
pine  tree,  called  by  the  French  in  that  country  L'Arhre  Seul, 
or  the  Lone  Tree.  It  was  a  conspicuous  and  important 
landmark,  but  some  needy  emigrant  cut  it  down  in  1843, 
and  when  Fremont  passed  that  way  and  was  looking  for  it, 
he  found  it  freshly  fallen.  It  became  thereafter  known  as 
The  Lone  Pine  Stump. 

Descending  this  stream  ten  miles  in  a  northerly  direction, 
to  the  point  where  it  turns  abruptly  to  the  southeast,  and 
continuing  thence  northwest  the  road  entered 

The  Grande  Ronde,  1,736  miles.  This  was  a  celebrated 
valley  in  the  mountains,  circular  in  shape  as  its  name  implies, 
a  fine  pasture,  and  an  excellent  camping  place.  It  was  all 
the  more  important  as  being  the  point  where  the  Trail 
started  across  the  difficult  Blue  mountains.  From  the  point 
where  the  Trail  entered  the  Grande  Ronde  to  the  foot  of  the 
Blue  mountains  where  the  crossing  began  was  about  fifteen 
miles.  Thence  the  customary  route  led  to  the  summit  very 
much  on  the  line  of  the  modern  railroad ;  but  in  descending 
the  west  slope  it  followed  a  more  direct  course  than  does  the 
railroad. 

Umatilla  River,  1,791  miles,  near  the  site  of  the  present 
Pendleton  was  the  first  point  of  importance  west  of  the  Blue 
mountains.  The  trail  followed  the  Umatilla  forty-four 
miles  to  the 

Cohimhia  River,  1,835  niiles. 

Another  but  less  frequented  route  left  the  Grande  Ronde 


482  DOWN    THE    COLUMBIA. 

in  a  northerly  direction  and  reached  the  Columbia  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Walla  Walla. 

From  Umatilla  the  road  continued  down  the  left  bank  of 
the  Columbia,  passing  in  succession  the  following  points : 

John  Day  River,  1,904  miles,  a  stream  named  for  John 
Day  of  Astoria  renown. 

Des  Chutes  River,  1,918  miles. 

The  Dalles,  1,934  miles. 

The  Cascades,  1,977  miles. 

Fort  Vancouver,  2,020  miles,  opposite  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Willamette,  and  properly  considered  the  end  of  the  Trail. 
This  point  is  still  104  miles  from  old  Astoria  and  114  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  tlie  Columbia. 

An  old  emigrant  road  ran  from  the  Dalles  south  of  Mount 
Hood  to  Oregon  City  on  the  Willamette,  a  distance  of  160 
miles. 


*byt> 


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University  of  California  Library 
Los  Angeles 

This  book  is pUEorvthejas^dat^st^^ 


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>  7 1974 


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